Wednesday, January 18 2006 11:26 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: In a fast paced political activity in the backdrop of soured relations between Coalition Government partners in Karnataka, majority of the Janata Dal (JD) Secular (S) legislators have decided to meet here today (Jan 18,2006)decide the 'fate'of the 20-month-old Government led by Chief Minister N Dharam Singh.

JDS legislators under the leadership of its state unitworking president H D Kuamraswamy, son of the party's supreme H D Devegowda would meet to take decision on whether tocontinue its coalition ties with Congress or to call off.

The JDS group, which was opposed to forcing a snap poll on the people of the state in the event of its coming out of the government was likely to rope in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) support to form an alternative government, even as Gowda contine to maintain in public his aversion to go with the saffron party.

In the meanwhile State unit BJP President Jagadish Shettar, refusing to divulge his party's strategy told sources that 'we are watching the development'.

The BJP Central leadership has deputed its Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu to monitor and take an 'appropriate' decision if JDS chose to bid a goodbye to its relations with Congress, which have strained in the aftermath of the Zilla and Taluk panchayat polls in which the JDS fared below to its expectations.

Sources in BJP claim that the situation has reached such a stage that a sizeable number of JDS MLAs would broke away from its party and come out of the Coalition Government, a speculation being watched intensely by Congress.

Kumaraswamy has been holding series of parleys with BJP leaders to install another coalition government on the Jammu and Kashmir model, but sharing power on Maharastra coalition pattern, a source in JDS indicated.

The uneasy relations that existed between Congress and JDS ever since the first ever coalition dispensation assumed office in May last, strained further following a good show by Congress in panchayat polls and its reluctance to tie up with JDS to rule panchayats which have thrown fractured verdict.

Gowda, irked by the Congress attitude had threatened to review his party's ties after holding National Executive slated for February eight, but the events unfolded in the last one week have alerted the political situation in the state.

The JDS had spurned the offer of BJP which emerged as a single largest party with 79 legisaltors to form the Government and opted to join Congress citing its 'secular' plank.

In the event of Gowda ref using to accept a tie up with BJP, more than 42 legislators of JDS might engineer a split in the party and join hands with the saffron party, a situation which looked bright at this stage.