WHY KARNATAKA'S POLITICAL PILOTS CAN'T AVOID TURBULENCE

KARNATAKA politics has become familiar with tumult. Over the last four decades, less than two years after every new government has settled into office with fanfare, it has gotten caught in crossfires regarding visible misgovernance, allegations of corruption, waves of political instability or challenges to leadership. It has often been a combination of these factors.

- SANDEEP SHASTRI

Siddaramaiah's 16-month-old government faces multi-track challenges despite being given a clear mandate by voters. The same happened to Ramakrishna Hegde in the mid-1980s, followed by three Congress chief ministers within a span of five years (1989-94), which were succeeded by Janata Dal coming to power and witnessing frequent splits (1994-99). All of this was followed by a Congress government headed by S M Krishna (1999-2004) that went into a tailspin with brigand Veerappan's abduction of veteran actor Rajkumar.

This was followed by coalition instability (2004-08) and a BJP government with three chief ministers that had to manage with the support of independents (2008-13). This made way for a Congress government headed by Siddaramaiah (2013-18) and a return to another five-year phase that saw three chief ministers heading coalition governments, and a majority by switchovers (2018-23). Now, there seem to be portents of history repeating itself.

Governance in the state seems to have taken a backseat with the chief minister being engulfed by the Mysore Urban Development Authority land allotment scandal and the government having to answer several uncomfortable questions on a range of other issues. The CM is clearly on the backfoot, attempting to stave off one googly after another. Some would argue that it is a matter of time before the Congress would need to consider a leadership change.