Karnataka KURSI kisKA?

​Bengaluru/New Delhi: As uncertainty looms over who will rule in Karnataka after a fractured verdict in which no party reached the half-way mark, both the BJP, which emerged as the single largest party and the Congress-JD(S) combine have staked the claim to form the government.

After the Congress offered its support to the JD(S), HD Kumaraswamy has accepted the offer. Writing a letter to the Governor, Kumaraswamy said that he has accepted the offer from the Congress and has sought an appointment from him.

The BJP, though emerged as the single largest party, is short of an outright majority. The party's BS Yeddyurappa met the Governor in the evening and asked for a chance to prove his majority.

The Janata Dal Secular (JDS), which is set to finish third, also told the Governor that it would form the government with Congress support.

The Congress arrived at an understanding with former prime minister Deve Gowda's regional party and agreed to give "unconditional support" to his son HD Kumaraswamy as Chief Minister of a coalition government. The BJP, not giving up, rushed Union ministers Prakash Javadekar, JP Nadda and Dharmendra Pradhan to Karnataka.

What happens next depends entirely on Governor Vajubhai Vala, who was appointed by the Centre four years ago.

KEY TAKES

• Karnataka has 224 seats; the BJP won 104, eight short of a clear majority. The Congress has won in 78 and Deve Gowda's JD(S) 37.
• The Congress phoned Deve Gowda in the afternoon and allegedly reached this deal: his son, HD Kumaraswamy, will be Chief Minister of a coalition government.
• Kumaraswamy met the Governor and staked claim to form the government.
• Earlier in the day, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said, "We have had a telephonic talk with Deve Gowda and Mr Kumaraswamy and they have accepted it. Whoever JDS will decide, will head the government."
• Yeddyurappa has also asked for a meeting with the Governor, saying he must call the single largest party. "Karnataka has given the mandate of Congress-free Karnataka. The Congress is trying to come back to power through the back-door and people of Karnataka will not tolerate it," he told reporters.
• It is up to the Governor to decide who will get first shot at proving their strength - the BJP or the Congress-Gowda team.
• The Congress and the JD(S) were unable to enter a partnership ahead of the election results. The Congress' Chief Minister who was voted out, Siddaramaiah, split from the JD(S) over a decade ago and the acrimony between him and Gowda remains unmitigated.
• However, as a series of opinion and exit polls forecast a fractured election results, the Congress made it clear that it would be open to sacrificing Siddaramaiah if needed to team with the JD(S).
• Siddaramaiah himself appeared to have accepted his being turfed out, stating that this was his last election and that he would accept his party's decision to replace him with a Dalit as head of the state if needed.
• BJP chief Amit Shah has a solid track record in ensuring the BJP forms the government in states where the result has been fractured - like Goa.