BJP's comeuppance in Karnataka

    A new chief minister has been sworn into office in Karnataka after Mr. B. S. Yeddyurappa resigned under the cloud of corruption charges. For a relatively forward looking state in India, Karnataka has had highly unstable state governments for more than three decades now. The job of Chief Minister of the state has changed hands 17 times in 33 years.Here is a listing of all those who have held the job:

1	D. Devaraj Urs	28 February 1978	7 January 1980	Indian National Congress
2	R. Gundu Rao	12 January 1980	6 January 1983	Indian National Congress
3	Ramakrishna Hegde	10 January 1983	29 December 1984	Janata Party
4	Ramakrishna Hegde	8 March 1985	13 February 1986	Janata Party
5	Ramakrishna Hegde	16 February 1986	10 August 1988	Janata Party
6	S. R. Bommai	13 August 1988	21 April 1989	Janata Party
	President's rule	21 April 1989	30 November 1989
7	Veerendra Patil	30 November 1989	10 October 1990	Indian National Congress
8	S.Bangarappa	17 October 1990	19 November 1992	Indian National Congress
9	M. Veerappa Moily	19 November 1992	11 December 1994	Indian National Congress
10	H.D. Deve Gowda	11 December 1994	31 May 1996	Janata Dal
11	J. H. Patel	31 May 1996	7 October 1999	Janata Dal
12	S. M. Krishna	11 October 1999	28 May 2004	Indian National Congress
13	Dharam Singh	28 May 2004	28 January 2006	Indian National Congress
14	H. D. Kumaraswamy	3 February 2006	8 October 2007	Janata Dal (Secular)
	President's rule	9 October 2007	11 November 2007
15	B. S. Yeddyurappa	12 November 2007	19 November 2007	Bharatiya Janata Party
	President's rule	20 November 2007	27 May 2008
16	B. S. Yeddyurappa	28 May 2008	31 July 2011	Bharatiya Janata Party
17	D. V. Sadananda Gowda	03 August 2011	Till date	Bharatiya Janata Party

                                                        Source : wikipedia

    A quick recap of the events in the last seven years is warranted here. Until the assembly elections of 2004 BJP was a marginal player in the state politics of Karnataka. With a hung assembly verdict in the 2004 elections, the party got it's opening in the state. They however, were thwarted by a shaky coalition between Congress and JD(S) which assumed power. This alliance collapsed after H.D. Kumarasway(HDK) engineered a coup by strking an alliance with BJP in early 2006. The apparent agreement was to share the Chief Minister's post for 20 months each for the rest of the duration of the assembly. Having been in power for 20 months, when JD(S) was unwilling to make way for a member of BJP to become the chief minister, the government eventually collapsed .There was president's rule for about six months.

    Fresh elections were held once again in 2008. This time around the fed up electorate seemed to be inclined to give BJP a clean chance at governing the state. Although no party got the requisite seats for an absolute majority , BJP managed to cobble together enough numbers to present a stable coalition. This was seen by optimists as a start of a fresh new chapter. Having suffered unstable governments in the previous four years, many thought this would bring much needed stability to the state. And since BJP had come to power in a southern state for the first time, many thought they would go the extra mile to provide good governance and establish a solid base.
  
    But it wasn't meant to be. Now just after three years , there is another chief minister. Misigivings between various groups within the ranks of BJP were reported by the media during the swearing in ceremony. The new administration will have two more years before the term of this assembly ends. There is little hope of any good coming out of this new dispensation.

    In the last few assembly elections across various states, voters have rewarded improvements in governance with renewed mandates and have punished those that gained notoriety for corruption and poor performance. New elections in Karnataka, when they happen may not be an exception.