Cong sees political change in K'taka after UP polls

Gulbarga, May 3: Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly N Dharam Singh today said a major political development will take place in the state soon after the ongoing Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

Talking to newspersons here, he said the differences among coalition partners Janata Dal(S) and Bharatiya Janata Party had widened, which would lead to political polarisation in the state. ''The present coalition government would fall soon and mid-term election to the Assembly would be held possibly later this year,'' he added.

Referring to Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's statement about keeping his word and handing over the Chief Minister post to BJP, Mr Singh said ''this will not happen''.

When his attention was drawn to a sugarcane farmer committing suicide in his home constituency Jewargi, the former Chief Minister alleged that the State Government failed to utilise the funds released by the Centre to stop farmers suicide.

He said ''The Centre had released Rs 1,760 crore to meet the problems, including the suicides of farmers. But the state government had failed to utilise the funds properly,'' he alleged.

UNI