Challenges before the new government
The JD(S)-Cong coalition government has come into existence with the swearing in of H D Kumaraswamy as the 25th Chief Minister of Karnataka. Senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Communist Party leader Sitaram Yechury, Chief Ministers of Andhra, Kerala and West Bengal Chandrababu Naidu, Pinarayi Vijayan, and Mamata Banerjee (respectively) had taken part in the coveted event. BJP observed a ‘dark day’ opposing this oath taking ceremony, but didn’t seem to have received much support.
Kumaraswamy who is becoming the Chief Minister for second time over has a sea of challenges before him. Some of the problems that have existed since ages have suddenly turned more complicated in the recent past. The cauvery imbroglio, the Mahadayi challenge, Ettina Hole project, law and order – all these have to be approached with a new perspective. Along with this, he also needs to focus on giving good administration to the people of the state. Some of the popular schemes launched by Siddaramaiah government have to be continued. His every step has to be counted and calculated since he has to balance the coalition of two major parties in the state.
Prime Minister Modi had indirectly said that he wouldn’t allow a chance for any government other than BJP to come into power in Karnataka. Hence, this can be a huge challenge too. The central government may try to intervene or curtail the state government’s functioning owing to their power. There could be non-cooperation too from the central government, and they may even use the governor to create challenging situations for the state. Not only this, the BJP might try to drive a wedge between the members of coalition. Kumaraswamy has to balance all the factors in order to keep the government going. During the run up to the elections, Kumaraswamy had assured the farmers that he’d waive off the loans completely if his party got people’s mandate.
Now the new CM has execute this after discussing with members of the cabinet and allies. While he took oath to the office of the CM, major opposition parties in the country have come together to create a platform to counter the ruling BJP at the centre. Narendra Modi government is hoping to turn the country into an opposition-less nation, which is quite a threat for democracy. Now, this coming together of all leaders of opposition parties presents a new challenge.
The formation of cabinet is still a challenge for the new government and this has to be resolved amicably. People have placed a lot of hope on not only the new CM, but also on the conduct of Congress and JD(S) members.
The oath taking ceremony of Kumaraswamy has gained national importance for many reasons. All the other parties such as Trinamool Congress, RJD, Telugu Desam, Rashtravadi Congress and two communist parties have come together to counter the Modi govt in 2019 elections. Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda has played a crucial role in bringing them together. All of them will face the Modi govt in solidarity in the 2019 polls.
Earlier, an attempt was made to keep Congress out of this equation and form a third front. But in the changed scenario, Congress is crucial for this effort. The leaders may have come to realize this. Mayawati of BSP, Chandrababu Naidu of Telugu Desam will play a very crucial role in this. T R Chandrashekar of Telangana will also join hands with them. This third front will be officially announced in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections. Looks like the leaders had decided to come together at a common platform without much ado. This has happened with Kumaraswamy’s oath taking ceremony. 2019 elections are very crucial as far as the nation’s future is concerned. Narendra Modi has not fulfilled any assurances he had made prior to elections. His major decisions such as demonetization and GST have further pushed people into dismay. Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi have run away from the country after duping our banks of thousands of crores. Banking sector has suffered a huge set back. The government wasn’t able to check this. Hence, the opposition parties would counter the current dispensation in the coming elections. A clear indication of this has been issued with opposition parties coming together in Benagluru when the state got a new CM.
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Axar shifts focus to next IPL after KKR all but end DC's campaign
New Delhi (PTI): A beleaguered Axar Patel admitted that both his team's batters and bowlers let the side down after Delhi Capitals suffered a humiliating eight-wicket defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders, virtually ending their IPL 2026 playoff hopes, while indicating the team had already begun looking ahead to the next season.
DC endured a miserable outing at home, managing only 142/8, which Kolkata Knight Riders chased down in just 14.2 overs, powered by a blistering unbeaten 100 from Finn Allen and his destructive stand with Cameron Green (33 not out) as the visitors tore apart the bowling attack.
With just eight points from 11 matches, DC are eighth on the table, while KKR revived their playoff hopes with a resurgent run, moving to seventh with nine points from 10 outings, though their road to the knockouts still remains difficult.
"For now, we'll go back and think about the mistakes we made. After that, obviously there's still a long journey ahead and next year will come too. So we'll think about what plans we can make for next year and what approach we should take," said Axar after the match.
"Based on that, we can also look at the players sitting on the bench and decide who can be given opportunities and what changes we can make," he added, hinting at a possible major overhaul next season.
With 200-plus totals becoming the norm this season, 142 was always going to be inadequate, and Axar admitted the score was well below par while also pointing out at poor judgement shown by the spinners while defending the modest total.
"I think the runs were definitely below par and at the same time the spinners made quite a few mistakes. Looking at the way the pitch behaved, I feel the spinners did make errors.
"At the same time, we lost five wickets in two-three overs, and I think that's where the momentum slipped away from us. That's probably something we need to think about because the same thing happened against CSK...we started well, and then suddenly wickets kept falling," he added.
He admitted the solutions to the issues could be found but players need to show the right mindset and character.
"See, you can't solve it in a complicated way. So, I think it's more about applying the right mindset. Even if you lose one or two wickets, you can still spend time at the crease and play through it. I think that's what needs to be applied, when wickets are falling in clusters, you need to absorb the pressure for an over or two," opined Axar.
KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane was pleased to see a struggling Finn Allen finally rediscover his touch with the bat.
"I'm really happy for Finn Allen. He was struggling first four or five games, working really hard, but the way he batted tonight was fantastic. But I want to praise our bowlers again.
"We did well because of them. And they've been doing it so well consistently, especially those middle overs and the death overs. Our spinners, Sunil Narine, Varun (Chakravarthy) and Anukul Roy, have been fantastic," he said.
"Fielding-wise, yes, we are working really hard. Our fielding coach has been really strict with us. And that's what has been helping us. The result which you've been seeing about the catches and the ground fielding, credit goes to our fielding coach as well," he added.
