Winners gloat, losers grumble. That’s the law of human nature. But in post-Karnataka politics, the victory celebrations are more muted than they might have been and the moaning and shrieking by the vanquished is sounding more like baying for the blood of scapegoats and a roar for revenge and retribution.

The victors of Karnataka are undoubtedly in a self-congratulatory mood, and deservedly so. But there is also a sense of awareness of the challenges that lie ahead. The new-found Congress-JD(S) partnership is turning out to be more than just a shot-gun wedding between two parties. It has triggered off an avalanche of proposals and possibilities of a mass marriage with multiple spouses along with their kith and kin.

When a sulking Governor reluctantly performs the nuptial ceremonies of the Kumaraswamy coalition on Wednesday, there will be a score of very important wedding guests, all equally eager to jump into the nuptial bed.

The responsibilities that come with such a potentially mind-blowing and game-changing union can be daunting and full of imponderables. But the signs are favourable, the horoscopes seem to match and there is a convergence of hearts and minds regarding the sacred objective—ridding India of the dangers of dictatorship.