Phew! The supposedly "single-largest-party" regime of BJP government in Karnataka is coming to an end. Finally!
When we went to polls the last time, the state was a victim of a spree of unholy alliances: Cong-JDS and BJP-JDS. And it was as though the electorate had solemnly vowed to hand over the reins of the state to a single party. And it was BJP that rode all the way - on a sympathy wave, of course - to Vidhana Soudha (the power center of the state). When the verdict was out that the BJP had emerged as the single largest party, the state heaved a sigh of relief, for two reasons:
> We had a misconception that A single largest party meant A stable government for 5 years, whether they did anything worthwhile or not
> If the party had promised to do anything worthwhile and did not, they wouldn't have an opportunity to blame their coalition partner
Well, it didn't take long for our misconceptions to be shattered. We were enlightened to the fact that coalitions can form even within a party and that it can get a lot worse than the coalition between parties! Thanks to BJP's "senior" leaders for their vision. Now, with elections around the corner, the phrase single-largest-party sends shivers down the spine.
So, for the last 7 years we've been at the receiving end of unholy alliances, unholier in-fights, and the holy President's Rule. And every time we cursed under our breath "It can't get worse!" we've been proven wrong. Yet again, we muster all our courage and go out to cast our ballot in May, thinking "It probably can't get worse this time around!"
When we went to polls the last time, the state was a victim of a spree of unholy alliances: Cong-JDS and BJP-JDS. And it was as though the electorate had solemnly vowed to hand over the reins of the state to a single party. And it was BJP that rode all the way - on a sympathy wave, of course - to Vidhana Soudha (the power center of the state). When the verdict was out that the BJP had emerged as the single largest party, the state heaved a sigh of relief, for two reasons:
> We had a misconception that A single largest party meant A stable government for 5 years, whether they did anything worthwhile or not
> If the party had promised to do anything worthwhile and did not, they wouldn't have an opportunity to blame their coalition partner
Well, it didn't take long for our misconceptions to be shattered. We were enlightened to the fact that coalitions can form even within a party and that it can get a lot worse than the coalition between parties! Thanks to BJP's "senior" leaders for their vision. Now, with elections around the corner, the phrase single-largest-party sends shivers down the spine.
So, for the last 7 years we've been at the receiving end of unholy alliances, unholier in-fights, and the holy President's Rule. And every time we cursed under our breath "It can't get worse!" we've been proven wrong. Yet again, we muster all our courage and go out to cast our ballot in May, thinking "It probably can't get worse this time around!"
