End of a coalition in Karnataka? Will the Cong-JD(S) stick together

Bengaluru, August 24: The much hyped up coalition in Karnataka and the Janata Dal (S) is all set to end.

Both H D Deve Gowda and Siddaramaiah have accused each other of the fall of the government in Karnataka and tensions between the two leaders is at an all time high.

In the aftermath of the Lok Sabha debacle and the subsequent fall of the government, the two parties have been at loggerheads. Moreover, the alliance chemistry never seemed to work as on the ground level, the workers of both parties never shared a good rapport owing to a common vote bank.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president, Dinesh Gundu said that the alliance was there only for the Lok Sabha elections. Now we will go ahead with strengthening the party's organisation. We had come together to keep the BJP out, but that is not the situation at the moment, Rao also said.

While no official announcement has been made, the two parties are yet to take a call on whether or not to fight the by-elections together. 17 seats are vacant after the rebel MLAs resigned. They were however disqualified by the Speaker, following which they petitioned the Supreme Court.