HD Kumaraswamy was supposed to join the top brass of 21 Opposition parties in Delhi, who are rallying for a non-BJP government at the Centre.
On Tuesday morning, Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy cancelled his visit to the national capital — New Delhi, unceremoniously. He was supposed to join the top brass of 21 Opposition parties who are rallying for a non-BJP government at the Centre. Kumaraswamy was also to be a part of the delegation that is meeting the Election Commission regarding the issue of EVMs.
A JD(S) source claimed that the CM’s visit has been cancelled due to the prevailing “fluid state” following the exit polls. All major exit polls have hinted at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s return.
“See now, the exit poll results have come out. Everything is now in a fluid state. So let the clear picture emerge, that is why he is waiting for May 23. There is no point for him to go. Anyway, we are expecting five seats in total, so our role is more to act as a binding factor for all other small parties. So let the results come out, then only we can act on that direction,” the JD(S) source added.
The Opposition parties intend to demand that the EC tally the VVPAT slips with the EVM count for every constituency in order to detect discrepancies. Ahmed Patel of the Congress, Sharad Pawar of NCP, Chandrababu Naidu of TDP, Satish Chandra Mishra of BSP, Sitaram Yechury of CPI(M) and Derek O’Brien of the TMC are expected to meet the EC officials. Kumaraswamy was also supposed to join the 21 parties and address the press jointly at the Constitution Club in Delhi, before heading for a meeting with the Election Commission.
It may be recalled that Kumaraswamy’s swearing-in ceremony in mid-2018 was the first time that the top leaders of all anti-BJP political parties came together on the same stage in a show of unity.
The CM’s office could not be reached for comment. Now, KC Venugopal, the AICC-Karnataka-in charge is likely to meet the CM later in the day at the former’s JP Nagar residence.
The calling off of the CM’s visit has also triggered speculations about the longevity of the state government amidst the continuous public infighting between the two coalition partners. Since the formation of the coalition government, the two parties had also contested the Lok Sabha polls as pre-poll allies.
The open bitterness among some leaders and former rivals has even displeased Congress President Rahul Gandhi who cracked the whip on Sunday. Following that, KPCC (Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee) President Dinesh Gundu Rao was forced to make a public statement appealing to leaders of both the parties to avoid making controversial comments.
However, the JD(S) source claimed that despite the apparent differences, there is no threat to the government.
Incidentally, BJP president Amit Shah is hosting a dinner in Delhi for all the NDA allies, two days ahead of counting of votes.
Agencies
