Shivakumar slams BJP-JD(S) bonhomie

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The ruling BJP’s craving for an electoral pact with the JD(S) for the December 10 Council polls clearly indicates that it is very weak and fears the defeat of its candidates in the elections to 25 seats in the Legislative Council from the local bodies constituencies, said KPCC President D.K. Shivakumar.

He told reporters that except for former CM B.S Yediyurappa, no other leader including state BJP President Nalinkumar Kateel or Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai have been talking about a tieup with the JD(S). The BJP is in a total mess and has descended to the level of begging the JD(S) for a pact, he remarked.

Shivakumar sought to know wh e t h e r BJP voters would vote for the JD(S) in its bastions in North Karnataka and vice-versa in Mandya, Ramanagar, Tumakuru and Mysuru districts? The BJP ministers are requesting the electorate to give one vote to the party and another vote to the JD(S) in constituencies with dual votes like Kolar and Chikkaballapur. But the JD(S ) is not ready to vote for the BJP in Tumakuru district and lose its base. It is only Yediyurappa who wants a tie-up with the JD(S) and no other leader, Shivakumar said.

The Congress leader said since the beginning, the party has kept a distance from both the BJP and JD(S). It did have an electoral understanding with the regional party previously but that is now a closed chapter. The JD(S) has lost its relevance in state politics and wants to have an electoral pact for its survival, he felt.

The tie-up between the JD(S) and BJP could lead to an understanding between the two parties in the 2023 Assembly polls. It has become a matter of prestige for the BJP to win the maximum number of Council seats since it has been in power in both the state and at the Centre, he added.