With a mature leadership and a firm commitment to its programmatic objectives of development and social justice, the coalition government in Karnataka marches ahead.
WHEN N. Dharam Singh of the Congress and Siddaramaiah of the Janata Dal (Secular) were sworn in as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka's first coalition government on May 28, the view shared by both their well-wishers and rivals was that the experiment would collapse under the weight of its own contradictions. After all, how could a working relationship between two erstwhile political rivals, the Congress and the JD (S), cemented only by their shared commitment to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) out of power, sustain itself?
Four months into the coalition experiment, and much of the early scepticism has been dispelled. Dharam Singh, who has been able to win the trust of all sections of the coalition, has emerged as a leader with wide acceptability. It is apparent that the coalition Ministry is moving ahead slowly, yet with increasing confidence in its ability to address the range of challenges thrown up by the electoral mandate it received. The soul-searching within the Congress party after the debacle it suffered (it won only 65 of the 224 Assembly seats) has led the party to re-strategise its governance priorities. It has sought to distance itself consciously from the pro-urban, information technology-centred image that the previous Congress government acquired, which cost the party dearly in the election. In his interview with Frontline for this feature, it is with considerable candour that Dharam Singh reflects on the lessons that his party has learnt from the last elections.
It is clear then that for this government, coalition dharma is not about sustaining an alliance to keep the BJP from returning to power, but about finding common ground in addressing the message of its electoral mandate. In both its rhetoric and initial policy pronouncements, the coalition government has indicated its pro-rural and pro-poor focus. "We have to give weightage to the backward castes, minorities, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. They are the backbone of democracy. This is the philosophy of the Congress party", said Dharam Singh of his government's approach.
The promises made in the election manifestos of the parties in the coalition Ministry found expression in a Common Minimum Programme (CMP) issued soon after the government took office. Some of the important commitments made by the government in the CMP are waiver of interest and penal interest on cooperative loans taken by farmers; provision of rice in the public distribution system at Rs.3 a kg; extension of the Akshara Dasoha or midday meal scheme for school children up to standard X (it is presently available only for children up to standard VII); provision of Rs.80 crores subsidy backlog to small-scale industries (a sector hit hard by the policy of economic liberalisation); free power supply to the Bhagya Jyothi beneficiaries and extension of the scheme to poorer households; establishment of a High Court bench in North Karnataka; provision of special status for the development of the backward areas of the State through amendments brought to Article 371 of the Constitution; and several special schemes and packages to provide more economic opportunities for the minorities.
The 2004-2005 Budget is a document that reflects the difficult task of balancing a reform agenda that the present government is committed to (under the terms imposed by the World Bank Economic Restructuring Loan) with its commitments in the CMP. Siddaramaiah, who is also the Finance Minister, in his interview to Frontline, has underlined the fact that his budget reflected most of the promises contained in the CMP. These include the supply of rice at Rs.3 a kg, a scheme that will benefit 70 lakh cardholders and cost the state exchequer Rs.900 crores, reduction of the interest rate for cooperative loans to 6 per cent simple interest; new residential schools for poor and socially underprivileged children; clearing of Rs.250 crores for the crop insurance scheme; and other such measures that address the "problems of the farmers and poorer sections of society". The coalition government in its Budget has increased the allocation for agriculture from Rs.412 crores to Rs.820 crores.
THERE were several challenges of a political nature that the government has weathered in its first four months, a reflection perhaps of the maturity and sense of realism of the coalition partners and their commitment to keeping the coalition intact. The first test the government had to pass was a crisis over the issue of the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. With pressure on the coalition government by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to release water, and considerable opposition to such a move from within the State, the government found itself in a bind. Copious rains solved the problem, but the political leadership, Dharam Singh in particular, handled the issue with total transparency. The sharing of the Krishna waters with Andhra Pradesh was similarly resolved - nature's timely intervention combined with a degree of political statesmanship.
Some measure of order was restored by this government in the confusion over admissions to professional colleges. Although the higher education lobby in the State continues to press its unreasonable demands in respect of fee structures and admissions, the government takes credit for reaching an out-of-court settlement with private managements, which the Supreme Court later upheld. It has also formally requested the United Progressive Alliance government for a Central legislation to regulate admissions to professional colleges, a suggestion well received by both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh.
The political leadership in the coalition is fully aware that the experiment is still in its early stages and that that the real tests lie ahead - the challenge for the government to fulfil its electoral mandate, and also safeguard the coalition itself. As the government goes into its fifth month, a major task before it is the expansion of the Ministry. At present only ten Ministers have been sworn in, and there is disquiet among the coalition parties that this important task has not yet been carried out. Portfolio allocations involve a balancing of political interests between the coalition partners. That there has been no open rebellion over this issue, as is so often the case in single party-run governments, is a testimony to the political maturity of coalition members who see the necessity of resolving this issue without threatening to break the partnership. The coalition appears to have got off to a cautious but promising start.
