Congress-JD(S) coalition will not last long, some options will emerge: BJP

The BJP Friday said the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in Karnataka will not last long and "some options" will emerge, but it does not see the possibility of mid-term polls.

BJP General Secretary P Muralidhar Rao, who is in-charge of party affairs in Karnataka, said the coalition has lost the people's mandate, adding MLAs belonging to various parties in the southern state do not want mid-term polls.

Reacting to former prime minister H D Deve Gowda's comments that there was no doubt that mid-term polls will be held in Karnataka, Rao said the JD(S) supremo is "exceeding his limits" and "his party which has just 37 MLAs has no power to recommend the dissolution of the House".

"I do not see any mid-term election in Karnataka. The BJP does not recommend it. In my view, the present government has lost the mandate. People have outright rejected this alliance," he told reporters here.

"Any further continuation (of the coalition) is creating pain and suffering for the people of Karnataka. This will not last for a long time and BJP feels some options will emerge. MLAs belonging to all parties (in Karnataka) are not interested in going for fresh election. That desire is much more powerful than anything else," Rao said.

In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the Congress and JD(S) managed to bag only one Lok Sabha seat each, while the BJP won 25 of the 28 seats in Karnataka.

Deve Gowda on Thursday said he told Congress president Rahul Gandhi that he has been hurt by the repeated public utterances of some leaders of the grand old party and the Janata Dal (Secular) about the coalition government in Karnataka.

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy Thursday alleged the BJP was continuing its efforts to "destabilise" the coalition government led by him, but asserted that it was stable and would complete its term.

-PTI