# Kumaraswamy dismisses reports of power-sharing formula # To discuss modalities of govt formation with Sonia, Rahul
PTI
BENGALURU
Ahead of his swearing-in as the Karnataka chief minister, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy will meet Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in Delhi on Monday to discuss the modalities of government formation.
Clarifying that no discussion has taken place so far on the allocation of ministerial berths, Kumaraswamy termed reports on the power-sharing formula of 30 months each between the parties as “bogus”.
“I’m visiting New Delhi tomorrow...I will meet Congress President Rahul Gandhi and the party’s senior leader Sonia Gandhi,” he told reporters here.
Based on the outcome of discussions with them, a decision will be taken on the number of Congress and JD(S) MLAs who will become ministers, Kumaraswamy added.
B S Yeddyurappa had yesterday stepped down as the chief minister without facing the floor test in the state assembly as the BJP fell short of numbers, following which Kumaraswamy met Governor Vajubhai Vala, and said he had been invited to form the government.
The May 12 Karnataka assembly polls threw up a hung assembly, with the BJP emerging as the single largest party with 104 seats.
While making it clear that there have been no discussions yet on the portfolio allocation, Kumaraswamy requested the media not to create confusion among the public and MLAs with such “speculative” reports.
He also asserted that within 24 hours of taking oath, he would prove the majority on
BJP still hopeful of making
a comeback in Karnataka
NEW DELHI: Events in Karnataka may have not gone according to plan, but the BJP believes it can make a comeback, thanks to the inherent contradictions in the Congress-JD(S) alliance in the state.
The likely consolidation of a section of voters, especially Lingayats, behind the BJP would also help keep the party in pole position in the run-up to the 2019 general elections, its leaders said.
“We may have lost the battle, but we will win the war,” said a party leader, referring to the next Lok Sabha polls. The marathon three-day political slugfest in the state culminated in B S Yeddyurappa resigning as chief minister yesterday after he failed to muster the support of seven additional MLAs to ensure he remained in office. A number of BJP leaders said the party’s efforts to form a government in Karnataka were driven by two factors -- first, they believed the people’s mandate was in favour of their party. >> See pg 7
Cong dares PM to investigate horse-trading
NEW DELHI: The Congress on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the BJP for allegedly attempting horse-trading in Karnataka and demanded that Prime Minster Narendra Modi order a probe into efforts made by his party leaders to bribe and induce Congress and JD(S) legislators ahead of yesterday’s trust vote.
“We hope the prime minister will order an investigation into the naked dance of corruption which his party MLAs were indulging in...
“The prime minister should prove his commitment to fighting corruption by launching an investigation into those MLAs who openly called Congress and JD(S) MLAs and offered bribes with an intention to break the rock solid coalition of the Congress and the JD(S),” Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill told reporters.
