CM leaves decision on polls to Sonia

Karnataka chief minister N Dharam Singh on Monday remained non-committal on the possibility of the Congress, now sharing power with JDS, seeking a fresh mandate if it did well in the zilla and taluk panchayat polls held this month.

Asserting that the ground situation was very much in favour of the Congress in the panchayat polls, Singh said that any decision on the assembly elections will have to be taken by party president Sonia Gandhi.

"Next year, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal are going to polls. This is the only coalition government. To prevent certain forces from coming to power, we have come together. Sonia Gandhi will take a decision. We will abide by that," he said.

Singh said that the people's "enthusiasm" for the Congress was clearly evident during the polls and dismissed the talk about his party entering a clandestine pact with the JDS.

He said both the Congress and JDS had not crossed the "Lakshman rekha" in the campaign for the elections to panchayat raj bodies which was held in two phases.

The counting of votes would be taken up tomorrow. Both the Congress and JDS had fought the elections bitterly in the first acid test of their strength at the grassroot level after the Assembly elections.

Singh said that he will expand the ministry but declined to specify any timeframe. He, however, added that the heads of various state-owned boards and corporations, an issue that has agitated the JDS, will be appointed shortly.

He said that the state cabinet at its meeting on December 31 will take a decision on convening the legislative session.