The Congress can’t afford to fail in Karnataka. But it’s sure trying hard

As the 2019 General Elections approach, the Congress, almost by default, seems to have gathered quite a crowd of cheerleaders. There are some who have always supported the party. Some realise they don’t have the appetite for anything saffron anymore. Yet others believe a democracy needs a strong Opposition, and the Congress has a pivotal role to play in it.

The party itself seems in no mood to oblige any camp.

After the brief fireworks display in Karnataka last month, where the somnolent party suddenly came to life and managed to form a government, it seems to have slipped back into the inefficient arrogance it is often accused of displaying.

The Karnataka government formation had been a spectacular spectacle. Leaders from most major political parties had attended the swearing-in of HD Kumaraswamy as chief minister. The Congress-JD(S) tie-up was touted as the new dawn of coalition politics, where disparate parties would join hands to keep out the Big Bad BJP.

For the idea of a “united Opposition” to inspire any confidence among voters, it is imperative that the Karnataka government runs without hiccups.

But the pilot project already seems to be running into rough weather — and the major share of the blame falls on the Congress.  

Unconditional support, conditions apply

After counting day threw up a hung verdict in Karnataka, it was the Congress that had approached the JD(S), with an offer of unconditional support to form the government. However, certain conditions seem to have kicked in soon after.

For the past month, the two parties have been quibbling constantly, first over cabinet berth allocation, and now reportedly over the first budget of the new government. Two recent videos, purportedly showing former Congress chief minister Siddaramaiah criticising Kumaraswamy and expressing doubts over the survival of the government, have added further fuel to the fire.   

If two parties cannot run one state, a "rainbow coalition" running the country will be a difficult idea to sell to voters. The stakes in the 2019 polls are the highest for the Congress, and the party is supposed to behave responsibly. Yet, its conduct in Karnataka has been erratic and inexplicable.

So far, the national party has given in to the JD(S) every step of the way, from announcing that Kumaraswamy would be CM for the entire five-year tenure instead of both parties sharing the top spot for a few years each, to agreeing to have only one deputy chief minister, to letting the JD(S) have the key finance portfolio.

But it has done so with poor grace and after public fights, which is doing no favour to its image.

The Congress can either recognise that it does not have the ground strength to win a majority on its own and learn to work with regional parties, or it can continue to fight alone, for better or worse. In Karnataka, it is trying to do both.

While it joined hands with the JD(S) without conditions to keep the BJP out, it now seems to be throwing its weight around as the party with a larger number of seats.

This is not just rocking the Karnataka boat, it is also shaking voter confidence in such coalitions.

Personal grouse, party’s loss?

The other problem that has surfaced between the two parties is over presenting a fresh budget, and of Kumaraswamy’s intentions of announcing a loan waiver for farmers.

In their pre-poll manifestos, while the JD(S) had promised a loan waiver, the Congress had talked of an agro-infrastructure corridor for farmers. However, some in the Congress camp, especially Siddaramaiah, are opposed to the idea of a fresh budget at all, as the previous government had presented one just before the election.

This is most unreasonable. A new government would understandably want to present its own budget, something that deputy CM G Parameshwara and Congress’ senior leader DK Shivakumar have publicly accepted. In such a scenario, if Siddaramaiah’s is the only major dissenting voice, it is the Congress leadership’s responsibility to rein him in and make sure his grievances don’t become public.

Siddaramaiah has been smarting since the voters rejected him in the polls. He also has a long and tortured history with the JD(S) – he had walked out of the party in 2006 to join the Congress because of differences with Kumaraswamy. Even his video that's been doing the rounds is not an official statement, but seems to have been “leaked” from the Dharmasthala hospital where he is receiving naturopathy treatment.

If the Congress allows the grouse of one leader to become an issue between two parties, with potential national repercussions, it only speaks of its poor leadership and poorer management.    

A united Opposition recently tasted several successes against the BJP — in politically critical Uttar Pradesh, no less — but all the four wins have been by-polls, where the winning candidate then did not have to run the government.

Karnataka is the only true test of the efficacy of such coalitions in power.

Before 2019, the Congress needs to develop either the heft to take on the BJP on its own, or the humility to work well with regional partners.    

Also read: BJP, hold your Emergency outrage, please