Accordingly on May 15, 2018, as results of the Karnataka assembly polls trickled in, Congress and JD(S) leaders started hectic parleys. Meanwhile after a few phone calls, various leaders met at locations across Bengaluru and within a few hours it was announced that the Congress will allow JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy to become the Chief Minister and head a coalition government.
Furthermore as leaders of both the parties posed for the cameras, raising their hands in solidarity, though there were murmurs among the cadres, the immediate reaction was one of euphoria that no matter what, the BJP was stalled, but more than 10 months after that strategic decision, the Congress and JD(S) are finding that coalitions cannot be announced overnight, even if leaders oblige, cadres will not.
Mahadev Prakash a political analyst said “In the Old Mysuru region, we have witnessed one phenomenon that can explain why the rivalry between the Congress and JD(S) party workers is so deep rooted. Ever since the JD(S) was formed, whenever the Congress came to power in Karnataka, the JD(S) workers were targeted and cases were booked against them and vice versa and hence this is why the rivalry cannot be easily erased”.
