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  India   All India  16 May 2018  BJP’s confidence stems from ‘single largest party’ status

BJP’s confidence stems from ‘single largest party’ status

THE ASIAN AGE. | BALA CHAUHAN
Published : May 16, 2018, 2:17 am IST
Updated : May 16, 2018, 2:17 am IST

Mr Kumaraswamy and a battalion of Congress leaders had met governor Vajubhai Vala in the evening to stake their claim to form the government.

H.D. Deve Gowda
 H.D. Deve Gowda

Bengauluru: The BJP, which after winning 104 seats has emerged as the single largest party is “confident” of forming the government despite not having crossed the half way victory mark of 113.

“We will form the government,” was a one-line statement by a party insider to this newspaper. Will there be a redux of ‘Operation Lotus’ is what the Congress-JD(S) combine, who have staked their claim to form the government along with the two Independent candidates should watch out for.

“We cannot rule out the possibility (of Operation Lotus). None of the JD(S) MLAs however, will go to the enemy (BJP) camp. All of them are intact with the JD(S),” JD(S) leader P.G.R. Sindhia told this newspaper. The confidence in the saffron party camp to form the government reportedly comes from a telephonic conversation between the party president Amit Shah and the former prime minister and leader of JD(S) H.D. Deve Gowda on Tuesday evening soon after the junior Gowda acquiesced to the Congress offer of supporting his party and appointment as the next chief minister of

Karnataka. This was followed by a call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to party supremo H.D. Deve Gowda where he offered a power sharing arrangement with the JD(S), which he reportedly declined. Mr Kumaraswamy and a battalion of Congress leaders had met governor Vajubhai Vala in the evening to stake their claim to form the government. “The governor has assured us that he would go by the rule book. He is waiting for the certificate of verification of elected candidates from the Election Commission,” said Mr. Sindhia, who lost his seat in Basavakalyan in Bidar district to Congress candidate B. Narayanrao Manappa. When asked what the governor meant by the rule book, Mr. Sindhia said he didn’t know.

BJP overconfidence killed chance of JDS-BJP deal?

Some BJP leaders on condition of anonymity also told this newspaper that H.D.Kumaraswamy was reportedly “open” to an alliance with the BJP minus the party CM candidate B.S. Yedyurappa. “But there was no further discussion on the matter because the BJP was sure of winning 130 seats. They should have had a contingency arrangement with the JD(S) like the Congress had set in motion. They were overconfident that they will not need the JDS(S) support,” said the source.

Tags: h.d. kumaraswamy, amit shah, h.d. deve gowda, vajubhai vala