Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is leaving for Bengaluru in the evening today and return the same night after conveying his good wishes to Karnataka’s Chief Minister designate H.D. Kumaraswamy whose coronation is scheduled for Wednesday.
The swearing-in ceremony of Kumaraswamy is scheduled to take place on Wednesday at 4.30 p.m. The JD(S) which managed to win only 38 seats in the recent nail-biting elections in Karnataka State, maneuvered to form the government by entering into an alliance with Congress which won 78 seats only as against the BJP which pocketed 104 seats. What is intriguing is that JDS which has bitterly contested against the Congress in the elections lost as many as 17 seats to it has decided to join hands with it for the sole purpose of coming to power in the state.
Kumaraswamy went to New Delhi on Monday and personally thanked and invited both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to attend the swearing-in ceremony. Both are expected to attend. Even Chief Ministers Mamata Benerjee of West Bengal, Arvind Kejriwal of Delhi, Chandrababu Naidu of AP, Mayawathi ( BSP) M.K.Stalin (DMK), Akilesh Yadav (SP) and others are expected to be present at the oath-taking ceremony.
Even KCR , who was invited seemed to be averse to share seats with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, knowing fully well his anti-Congress stance. It is also pertinent here to note that KCR has been vociferously propounding the imperative need for forming a Federal Front against both the BJP and the Congress. To garner support in this regard he had even personally met JDS Chief H D Kmaraswamy and his father the former PM H D Deve Gowda. He had even asked his TRS leaders and cadre to canvass for JDS in constituencies where Telugus presence was more. Though he was happy at BJP being denied an opportunity o form the government in Karnataka, he was also shocked and a bit sore at the JDS joining hands with the Congress..
However since he was making all efforts to bring various opposition parties, especially the regional parties in various states, in his endeavour to form a Third Front against both the BP and the Congress, KCR would not like to hurt the sentiments of the JDS leadership by abstaining from the swearing ceremony despite being antagonistic towards the Congress. Hence KCR was leaving for Bengaluru in a chartered flight to call on Kumaraswamy on Tuesday evening itself to convey his good wishes and return back in the night. In this way KCR would be not only pleasing the JDS leadership but at the same time diligently avid sharing seats with the Congress leaders.
Though it is officially being claimed that KCR had planned his visit to Bengaluru one day in advance of the swearing-in ceremony because of heavy and tight schedule here in Hyderabad on Wednesday, one cannot be blind to the real reason behind this move — that is to avoid sharing seats with both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. !!!! (NSS).