JD(S) divided house over Lok Sabha tie-up with BJP

Maqsood Maniyar | NT

Bengaluru: Divisions have remerged in the JD(S) with its MLAs expressing anxiety about the talks between the party patriarch HD Deve Gowda and the BJP top brass over an alliance for the Lok Sabha elections.

The talks were acknowledged by Gowda during a party convention on Sunday. The internal friction is nothing new as JD(S) lawmakers led by Chamundeshwari MLA GT Deve Gowda and the party patriarch’s son and Holenarasipura MLA HD Revanna had suggested that the JD(S) steer clear of an alliance with the saffron party for fears that it would alienate their Muslim support base in Old Mysuru region.

However, the fear of losing Muslim votes is a double-edged sword. Sections from the community in Old Mysuru, who had been JD(S) voters, switched to the Congress in the May Assembly.

Earlier, the JD(S) had acknowledged they had lost by a margin of between 200 to 3,000 votes in 10 seats in the 2018 polls and ended up with 37 seats.

Analysis by party strategists found that the waning support from Muslims had cost them dear. Therefore they took a number of measures to regain the support of the community, including appointing CM Ibrahim as the state president of the party, but to no avail.

This prompted sections within the JD(S) to consider planning for their future without Muslim support as it was an “existential crisis”.

MLA opposes alliance in public

JD(S) MLA from Gurmitkal constituency in Yadgir district Sharanagouda Kandakur told the channel 'News First Kannada' that he wasn’t in agreement with an alliance with the BJP.

“As a party worker, I feel that the time to ally with the BJP or any other party has passed by. If we had done so for the Assembly elections, we would have been in power. Instead of thinking of becoming MLAs, MPs and ministers, we should be thinking of the workers who put us here. Tying up with the BJP right now seems urgent. I don’t agree with this alliance,” Kandakur said, adding that he “severely opposed” it. “This decision may do more harm than good to the party,” he said.

In 2019, BJP bigwig BS Yediyurappa had phoned Kandakur to convince his father Naganagouda, then Gurmitkal MLA , to come over to the BJP but Sharanagouda made the call recording public, embarrassing the saffron party. 

Saffron party turncoats fear backlash

JD(S) MLAs Karyiamma from Devadurga and Nemraj Naik from Hagribommanahalli had left the BJP for the regional party and now fear vengeance by their former party.

Other party members feel that they could have continued to try to regain Muslim support since Congress failed to deliver on its promises such as the withdrawal of the Government Order banning hijabs in educational institutions.

Still others fear that JD(S) workers could go over to the BJP after the alliance.

The BJP could be angling to strengthen themselves in Old Mysuru at the regional outfit’s expense, seeing as how they had done the same to Lok Shakti Party, siphoning away their Lingayat support base.