Karnataka: Congress-JD(S) Coalition May Not Last Beyond 2019 Elections, Says Former CM Siddaramaiah

All is not well between the two non-majority parties that joined hands to form a coalition government in Karnataka. The two parties seem to be struggling to arrive at a consensus on most issues even after four weeks of forming the government. And that the current Chief Minister (CM) H D Kumaraswamy and former chief minister K Siddaramaiah do not really see eye to eye on most issues is evident. But a result of their disagreements has the former CM openly expressing his doubts on the longevity of the government. In yet another video that surfaced on a news channel on Tuesday, Siddaramaiah, who is at a rejuvenation centre, is clearly miffed with the coalition government and is seen expressing apprehensions over it.

As reported by the Times of India, the video has Siddaramaiah talking to an anonymous person who quizzes him about the coalition completing five years, to which he is heard saying, “What? Five years?... Let us see what happens after the Parliament election. They will continue till the Parliament election. Will have to see what developments take place after that.”

This comes close on heels of an earlier video where Siddaramaiah was seen unhappy with the Kumaraswamy’s intentions of presenting a full-fledged budget this year. Kumaraswamy had then taken up the matter with Congress President Rahul Gandhi, who gave him the nod.

With the proposed budget due on 5 July, it remains to be seen if all issues between the coalition partners will be resolved by then.