AS the results of the Karnataka Assembly elections trickled in on Sunday, among those following it very closely was Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M Karunanidhi. The results are crucial to him not only as a key constituent of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, but also as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, which has been having a running battle with Karnataka on the Cauvery issue, with Hogenakkal being the latest one. Last month, Karunanidhi had tried to calm the situation by de claring that he was putting on hold the project till an elected government was in place in Karnataka. In fact Karunanidhi had pinned his hopes on the Congress returning to power, which would have en abled him to use his personal and political equations in Delhi to help find a way out. His own personal equation with S M Krishna, the Chief Minister probable in Con gress, could also have helped him a lot to solve the water crisis. But now the BJP is set to form the government with B S Yeddyu- rappa at the helm, the hopes on the smooth passage of the project have receded. "After all Yeddyurappa who first raked up the Hogenakkal issue, not just questioning the project, but also staking Karnataka's claim on Hogenakkal itself. Having whipped up passions during the run up to the elections, Yeddyurappa will find it difficult to backtrack on it," a senior DMK minister said. Though president of Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP L Ganesan, projecting Yed dyurappa as a nationalist, expresses hope that that there will be no threat to the implementation of the project, this hope is not shared by most other political parties. "It hardly matters, who comes to power in Karnataka, whether it is the BJP or Congress, the end re sult would most probably have been the same as far as Tamil Nadu is concerned. What is the guarantee that Tamil Nadu would get a fair deal if the Congress had won and Krishna had become the Chief Minister?" asked a senior leader of the PMK, an ally of the ruling DMK. Pointing out that it will be election time again in less than a year for the Lok Sabha, no political party in Karnataka could be seen favouring Tamil Nadu. "You just cannot blame only the BJP, though they were the ones to raise the issue first. When it comes to anything to do with Cauvery all the political parties in Karnataka will close ranks," the PMK leader said. The implementation of the Rs 1,334 crore project, that envisages protected drinking water supply to Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts, is yet to begin. The tenders for the project consultant have already been issued and the technical and financial bids are expected to be finalised in the last week of June. The actual work on the project, as per the time frame fixed by Tamil Nadu Government, should begin by December this year. And now the state government is bracing itself for a protracted political, administrative, and possibly legal battle with Karnataka.