K'taka crosses turbulent 2006

Bangalore, Dec 29 (UNI) This year saw a string of political events with the Janata Dal (Secular) forming a new government with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after it broke away from the Congress-led coalition government which was struggling to consolidate.

The move left the Congress in a state of shock as 39 JD(S) MLAs, led by Mr Kumaraswamy, withdrew support to the Dharam Singh government on January 23 and after five days the Chief Minister resigned.

On February 3, Mr Kumarasamy formed a new government with the BJP on a power sharing formula under which each party would have Chief Minister for 20 months.

With former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda holding the baton, the rival faction, headed by Kerala MP Veerendra Kumar and JD(S) ideologue Surendra Mohan, parted with the JD(S) of Mr Gowda.

Though on a firm footing in Karnataka, the secular credentials of the JD(S) would be put to test in the coming year in view of its alliance with the BJP which seemed to be keen in bringing the issue of Ram Mandir to limelight.

While Mr Gowda said the BJP should be committed to the common minimum programme of the Karnataka Development Front, the Congress seems to do anything to topple the Kumaraswamy-led coalition government.

Besides politics developments in the state, Karnataka lost its illustrious son and matinee idol Rajkumar on April 12, leaving Kannada filmdom in tears as the versatile actor had left an indelible mark in the film industry.

Activities of terrorism also marked another dimension in the state. On October 27, two Al-Badr militants, who had plotted to target the Central Institute of Indian Languages in Mysore, were arrested.

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