Saturday, February 4 2006 11:04 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: A two-member Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Janata Dal (JD)Secular (S) coalition Government headed by JDS rebel leader H D Kumaraswamy assumed office in Karnataka yesterday(Feb 4,2006), ending a fortnight long political uncertainty that paved the way for the saffron party to be in the saddle for the first time in the South.

In a swearing-in ceremony boycotted by his father and JDS supremo H D Deve Gowda who firmly opposed the tie-up with the BJP, the 46-year-old Kumaraswamy took the oath as Karnataka's 18th Chief Minister and BJP's B S Yediyurapppa as Deputy Chief Minister at the portals of the Vidhan Soudha, the State Secretariat.

Watched by thousands of enthusiastic BJP and JDS workers who shouted slogans hailing the new government, Governor T N Chaturvedi administered the oath of office and secrecy at a brief ceremony, amidst tight security.

BJP and JDS flags carried by party workers fluttered in what appeared to be a festive atmosphere in the vicinity of the seat of power.

Outgoing Chief Minister N Dharam Singh and BJP leaders including its president Rajnath Singh and H N Ananth Kumar attended the function.

The moment held a special significance for the BJP, as this is the first time that it has assumed power in the South, albeit with a coalition partner, foraying into administration in Karnataka, a State it had always looked up to as the gateway to the South.

Wearing a white shirt and dhoti, Kumaraswamy whose political coup brought down the Dharam Singh government, took the oath in the name of god, as his party supporters lustily cheered him and welcomed their new hero by bursting crackers.

A similar welcome also awaited Yediyurappa, who is credited with playing a key role in building the party in Karnataka but had faced an embarrassment months ago when he had tried to join hands with Kumaraswamy with a section of his party MLAs to form a government that turned out to be a botched up exercise.

The decks for the new government were cleared Thursday when the Karnataka High Court refused to stay the swearing-in ceremony on a petition that sought disqualification of Kumaraswamy and JDS rebel MLAs from the assembly membership on ground of defection.

The path to power for the new combination became much smoother after the rebel JDS MLAs firmly told Gowda at a meeting with him last night that they were in no mood to change their course and instead sought his 'blessings' for the alliance with the BJP.

A full-fledged ministry would be constituted after February eight, when Kumaraswamy would seek a vote of confidence to comply with the directive of the Governor to show that he commanded majority within eight days of assuming office.

According to the power-sharing agreement, BJP, the senior partner, would have 18 ministers and JDS 16. In the last assembly polls, the BJP had emerged as the single largest party with 79 seats in the 224-member House, followed by the Congress with 65 and JDS with 58, with the fractured verdict bringing the latter two to form the state's first coalition government held by the glue of secularism.

The 20-month-old Congress-JDS government finally crumbled on January 28, when Dharam Singh resigned as Chief Minister after not being able to show his majority in the Assembly within the January 27 deadline set by the Governor, who then invited Kumaraswamy to form the Government.

The fall of the Dharam Singh government preceded 10 days of political turmoil marked by sudden twists and turns and manoeuvres which also publicly highlighted the Gowda-Kumaraswamy rift on forging an alliance with the BJP.

After distancing from the moves of his son, Gowda had, in a volte face, backed him but only to do another somersault trying to convince the rebels till last night to follow his path, an effort that came a cropper.

The power-sharing agreement allows the JDS to lead the coalition for 20 months and the BJP for the remaining equal number of months.