Karnataka’s new Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and Deputy CM G Parameshwara addressed their first press conference after taking oath on the steps of the Vidhana Soudha on Wednesday.
JD(S) State President Kumaraswamy, who has taken oath as CM for the second time in his political career, started off by saying that in spite of what he had said before the results about how he would not join hands with either the BJP or Congress, circumstances had changed, pushing him into forming a coalition.
“This is a circumstantial arrangement,” he said.
Much drama ensued when the election results were declared in the state.With the state seeing a fractured mandate, the Congress, which bagged 78 seats, moved quickly to woo the JD(S), which had won 38 seats.
Despite the BJP winning 104 seats and being asked to form the government, the party was unable to show the numbers on the floor of the Assembly, and BS Yeddyurappa stepped down just two days after taking the oath as Chief Minister.
"We have tied our horses down. You can take only a lifeless horse to Modi," he said, hinting at BJP’s attempts at horse trading earlier.
The Congress-JD(S) alliance was hailed as a victory by several leaders of the Opposition, and many of them attended his swearing in.
"In the history of India, this is the first time we have 20-25 CMs, former CMs and senior leaders coming together. This is a new development in the country,” Kumaraswamy said.
He also confirmed that a fresh Budget would be drafted which would continue the people-friendly developmental programmes started by the Congress.
He regretted that he could not live up to the promise of waiving off farmer loans within 24 hours of swearing in made by him in his campaigns. "I had promised the loan waiver within 24 hours of taking oath, but this is a coalition government I am heading. I have to consider each step I take carefully,” he said.
Kumaraswamy added, “Even though it is a coalition government, it will be a model for the country.”
At the end of the press conference, Kumaraswamy took questions. When a reporter asked him about the Lingayat issue, he said, "The Lingayat issue is not a big one. We will ensure that there is no situation where people will take to the streets.”
In the run-up to the elections, the Lingayat issue became a major talking point, with the Congress granting the community special status. Many leaders took to referencing Basavanna, the 12th century philosopher-poet who started the relgion, in a bid to woo the large Lingayat electorate.
“If i were to borrow from a Basavanna saying it is ‘Kayakave Kailasa’ (work is heaven) and not ‘Ivanaarava Ivanaarava Ivanaarava’,” he said.