With the Janata Dal-Secular and the Bharatiya Janata Party springing a surprise in Karnataka, an apparently shocked Congress on Saturday said that the governor should decide whether a viable and stable government could be formed by those who had parted ways after a "vicious fight".

"It is all part of opportunistic politics. Both of them had failed very recently and as per convention, it is the Congress party's turn," All India Congress Committee media department chairman Veerappa Moily told PTI.

Moily, who is also a former Karnataka chief minister, said, "We are not claiming it (stake to form the government) but we are pointing to the convention."

Maintaining that the Congress was for fresh elections, he said the governor will have to first decide whether a viable government could be formed at all by the BJP-JD-S combine.

Moily alleged that the BJP-JD-S have suddenly embarked on the venture of forming the government as they are "frightened due to the income tax raids on the 'mining mafia'" and fear that the "loot of the last 20 months will come out."