CHURUMURI POLL: HDK going, going, gone?

The row over the allegation made by the BJP MLC Janardhan Reddy against Karnataka chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and forests minister C. Chennigappa, of having gobbled up Rs 150 crore in bribes from mine owners in Bellary, refuses to die down, as the events in the legislative assembly yesterday show. With the BJP backing its legislator’s charges in a roundabout way, the stage seems set for a grand showdown between the coalition partners in Karnataka, even as the Congress smells blood.

At the same time, deputy chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa and his supporters, who till now were seemingly on the side of the JD(S), too, seem to be losing patience. BJP legislators complain of being treated like the Opposition despite being a part of the coalition; Yediyurappa has complained of being ignored by the CM. Which means that even if the Ananth Kumar faction of the BJP breaks ranks, the chances of the Yediyurappa faction rushing to HDK’s help seem bleak.

Question: First the expressway impasse, now the bribe charge, with D.V. Sadananda Gowda‘s rants in between. Has the countdown begun for the collapse of the Kumaraswamy regime?