A crisis in Karnataka

Infighting rages in the Janata Dal in Karnataka, raising serious questions about the survival of the J.H. Patel Ministry.

PARVATHI MENON
in Bangalore

THE Janata Dal in Karnataka is today a party at war with itself. A split in the party in the only State where it is in power would be a serious setback for the Janata Dal, which has of late suffered a loss of credibility in national and regional politics. While factionalism and personality clashes are not alien to the party, particularly in Karnataka, the latest crisis threatened the survival of its government itself. A group led by former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda demanded that J.H Patel step down as Chief Minister and leader of the Janata Dal Legislature Party (JDLP). It was clear that even if the party survived this crisis, the loss of image would have serious implications since it has come about just a year before Assembly elections are due.

"The crisis has been defused to some extent, although it is far from over," B.L. Shankar, State president of the party, told Frontline ahead of the debate on the a no-confidence motion. "All sections in the party, the dissidents included, fear that if the party splits we will lose our Government. This fear may be the key to any compromise formula that is worked out to resolve our problems," he said.

T.L. PRABHAKAR
Chief Minister J.H. Patel with State Janata Dal president B.L. Shankar (left) and Minister P.G.R. Sindhia at a press conference on October 24.

The Congress(I) and the Bharatiya Janata Party filed separate no-confidence notices against the J.H. Patel Government on October 29. The two notices were to be treated as one and put to vote on November 4. The dissidents had earlier agreed to hold back their demand to convene the JDLP meeting until after the Legislature session. Later they set November 3 as a fresh deadline to hold the meeting; if the deadline was not met they would reconsider their decision to vote against the no-confidence motion. It was clear that if the rebel group voted against the Government it would be difficult for the Government to survive. The Janata Dal has 112 members excluding the Speaker in the 225-strong Assembly. It is supported by 10 independents. The Congress(I) has 44 MLAs and the BJP 38.

THERE has been an undercurrent of dissatisfaction in a section of the party against J.H. Patel and his governance since he took over as Chief Minister in June 1996. The current campaign, which picked up momemtum in early October, has drawn strength from Deve Gowda's leadership. Deve Gowda, whose hold over the party apparatus in the State loosened after he became Prime Minister in May 1996, appears to have decided to use the mood of discontent to recapture his influence in the party in the State. Deve Gowda and J.H. Patel had an uneasy relationship, and Deve Gowda has intervened in party affairs in the State several times in the last two years bypassing the Chief Minister. This time he seems determined to see that J.H. Patel is finally replaced. J.H. Patel, however, has dug his heels in, and appears equally determined to stay.

The dissident group of MLAs is bonded by a range of grievances. Some aspired to become Ministers or chairpersons of government-run boards and corporations; some say that the Chief Minister has not given their castes due representation, and some are genuinely concerned about the state of the party. A group of 26 legislators sent J.H. Patel a memorandum asking him to convene a JDLP meeting before October 20 to discuss several pressing public grievances (including the steep increase in the power tariff and the poor condition of the roads in the State). They also wrote to Deve Gowda and S.R. Bommai, former Union Minister and a senior Janata Dal leader from Karnataka, asking them to participate actively in party affairs and prepare the party for the Assembly elections.

T.L. PRABHAKAR
Janata Dal leaders S.R. Bommai and H.D. Deve Gowda in Bangalore on October 26.

The same group of MLAs, whose numbers swelled to around 50, next launched a signature campaign in support of their demands. One of those prominently associated with the camaign was H.D. Kumaraswamy, former Member of Parliament and Deve Gowda's son. J.H. Patel set a date for JDLP meeting, October 28 (a day prior to the commencement of the Legislature session), but later postponed it saying that Cauvery River Water Authority was to meet in New Delhi on that day and his presence was required there. In response to the now directly articulated demand that the JDLP must decide the leadership issue, he said that the question of leadership was to be decided by the House and not by the JDLP.

"No legislator is happy to do this," N.M. Nabi, a prominent spokesperson of the dissident group told Frontline. "We have to change the leader in the interests of the party. It is not that we have any personal grudge against J.H. Patel, or that he is bad, but he is physically not able to carry on his duties. It is a fact that he has been admitted several times to Jindal (a naturopathy centre near Bangalore). We want him to retire."

Senior Ministers such as Agriculture Minister C. Byre Gowda, Law Minster M.C. Nanaiah, Deputy Chief Minister and one-time Deve Gowda loyalist Siddaramaiah and Bommai have been trying to broker a peace between J.H. Patel and Deve Gowda. There seems to be no doubt, on the face of it, that the Chief Minister has majority support in the party. The closest to a credible headcount of the legislators with them that the rebel leaders have produced is the list of signatories to an appeal to Deve Gowda asking him to take over the leadership of the party. It was signed by 50 MLAs, including 14 chairpersons of boards and corporations, JDLP secretary Jyothi Reddy and the Chief Whip in the Assembly Vasanth Bagera. Behind J.H. Patel are senior Cabinet members P.G.R Sindhia, M.C. Naniah, M.P. Prakash, Leeladevi R. Prasad, C. Byre Gowda, K.N. Nage Gowda, B.N. Bacche Gowda, V. Somanna, and A.B. Patil among others. But there are several Ministers who support Deve Gowda.

T.L. PRABHAKAR
Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

However, pressure from the dissident group as well as from the central party leadership has forced J.H. Patel to agree that he will hold the JDLP meeting some time after the legislature session. He has left it to the party's national president Sharad Yadav to fix the date, but has made it clear that while he is willing to discuss all the grievances of the dissident MLAs he will not step down as Chief Minister to pave the way for a compromise candidate. With the numbers clearly in his favour, a vote on whether or not he should continue as Chief Minister in the JDLP seemed certain to go in his favour. The party's central leadership is also not for J.H. Patel's replacement as it will certainly lead to further instability in the party.

"We are all interested in the survival of the government and would not like to see a split in the party," Siddaramaiah told Frontline. "Patel has agreed to convene the JDLP, and Deve Gowda has said that he will go by the opinion of the MLAs."

If at the JDLP meeting the issue of J.H Patel's continuation is put to vote, there is little doubt that a majority will vote for his continuation. The question then arises as to whether the minority will accept such a verdict. "All the earlier talk of the power tariff hike and so on has now disappeared and the real issue, that of Patel's leadership, has come to the fore," remarked B.L Shankar. "That has to be sorted out. Will the dissident group show the maturity to digest the outcome of the JDLP meeting, even if it goes against them? This could generate an enormous amount of ill-will," he said.

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