The ruling BJP and the opposition JDS have shared a blow hot, blow cold relationship in Karnataka ever since the latter parted ways with the Congress in July 2019 – after their alliance government fell apart due to defections to the BJP.
The November 30 photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading Janata Dal Secular (JDS) supremo H D Devegowda by his hand before the two held a “cordial meeting” at Parliament House have put the spotlight on the two parties ahead of a crucial Vidhan Parishad election scheduled for December 10.
The ruling BJP and the opposition JDS have shared a blow hot, blow cold relationship in Karnataka ever since the latter parted ways with the Congress in July 2019 – after their alliance government fell apart due to defections to the BJP. But now, with elections to 25 seats in the state legislative council, the JDS has seemingly decided to drop its stance of equidistance from the BJP and the Congress and to throw in its lot with the ruling BJP.
Soon after the Devegowda-Modi meet, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai announced that Devegowda’s son H D Kumaraswamy and former BJP CM B S Yediyurappa would chalk out a plan for a JDS-BJP alliance for the council elections. On Saturday, November 4, Kumaraswamy stated that a JDS-BJP tie-up for the polls would be decided keeping the future interests of the JDS in mind, specifically the 2023 Assembly polls.
The December 10 polls are being held on account of 15 Congress members, 6 BJP members and four JDS members retiring in January 2022 from the 75-member council, where the BJP currently has a strength of 32 seats, the Congress 29 and the JDS 12. This is apart from an Independent member and the council chairman, who is from the JDS. The BJP is keen to wrest a few seats from the Congress while the Congress and JDS are keen to at least retain their numbers.
One of the reasons for the possibility of a JDS-BJP alliance for the council polls is the fact that the JDS has fielded a candidate only in six of the 25 district-wise constituencies – where elected representatives from local bodies will vote for legislative council candidates on a preferential basis. A second reason is that the BJP is desperate to wrest control of the Upper House (where it now depends on the JDS for passing Bills) and is keen to ensure that the Congress (which has 15 seats at stake compared to the BJP’s 6 and JDS’s 4) loses significant ground.
“In six constituencies where we have fielded candidates, there are candidates from all three parties. We cannot ask BJP to support our person. In other places, Congress and BJP are fighting and JDS will decide on these constituencies keeping the future in mind,” said Kumaraswamy.
A failure by the BJP to win a good number of seats is seen as being detrimental to the party’s prospects in Karnataka ahead of the 2023 Assembly polls.
It is a very commercial election — where a person with the deepest pocket will get the nod of the elected local body delegates in each constituency. In most places, voters have already decided on who they will support and so a JDS-BJP alliance will work only in a few seats,” a former state MLC said.
In some places, the alliance forged by party leaders may not work on the ground, he said. “The alliance with the BJP is an opportunistic move by the JDS but the BJP will take up the offer only if it is sure that the alliance will help it win a specific seat,” he added.
The dalliance between the JDS and BJP in Karnataka is not a new one, except that this time, for the December 10 elections, it is more overt than earlier. Devegowda has enjoyed a cordial relationship with Modi for long, with the two often making it a point to greet each other on social media on special occasions.