As exit polls indicate big BJP win, here is what the party has in mind in Karnataka

Bengaluru, May 22: There is plenty of coalition trouble in Karnataka and if the exit polls are an indicator of what is to come, then there is a good chance that the JD(S)-Congress coalition could crumble.

Senior Congress leader, Roshan Baig on Tuesday ruffled several feathers, when he went on to call K C Venugopal a Buffon and Dinesh Gundu Rao a flop show. He went a step further to say that if the NDA is coming back to power, then he appeals to his Muslim brothers to learn and compromise with the situation.go

Even after the BJP emerged as the single largest party in Karnataka, it failed to form the government as it was lacking in numbers. The JD(S) and Congress came together to form the government, but the road for the two parties has not exactly been hunky-dory.

Sensing victory at the Centre and more trouble for the alliance in Karnataka, the BJP has already set in place its plan of action. The party is expecting several MLAs from both the JD(S) and Congress to resign as a result of which the house strength would come down.

The BJP is also pinning its hopes on the results of the by-elections that were held at Kundgol and Chincholi. The Kundgol elections were necessitated by the death of Congress MLA C S Shivalli. The Chincholi seat fell vacant following the resignation of former Congress MLA Umesh Jadhav.

If the BJP is able to win both these seats, then it would be in a better position to topple the existing government. The primary intention of the BJP is to reduce the house strength. So far Jadhav has been the only casualty for the Congress, but the party is watching six other fence sitters very closely.

If the BJP wins the by-elections, the tally of the party would go up to 106. The party however claims that there are at least 20 other Congress MLAs who are eating to resign and switch sides.

A lot would depend on the results to be declared on May 23. If the BJP wins big, then there would be more trouble for the Congress as the party is likely to see several defections. Many are of the view that they need to go with the flow instead of being part of a difficult alliance.

When asked if the BJP would look to seek support of the JD(S) and form the government, a top BJP source told OneIndia that they are not looking at that option. We are confident that after the elections, many Congress MLAs will resign and that would bring down the house strength dramatically. We will then stake our claim to form the government, the source also said.

In the 225 member house, the BJP has 104 seats, the Congress-77 and JD(S)-37. The BSP and the KPJ party have a seat each. There is also an independent and one Speaker and two vacant seats, the results of which will be known on May 23.

If the Congress fails to win the by-polls then the alliance would have 114 seats together, just one more than the halfway mark.