Bengaluru, Dec. 7: The Janata Dal (S) second in command and former chief minister, H. D. Kumaraswamy on Tuesday said that he has left it to his party’s local leaders’ discretion to decide on which party to support in the upcoming biennial election to the Karnataka legislative Council.
On November 21, BJP’s veteran leader and former chief minister, B. S. Yediyurappa had said that he would request both JD(S) patriarch, H. D. Deve Gowda and his lieutenant, H. D. Kumaraswamy supports the BJP wherever the JD(S) does not field its candidates. Since then speculation was in rife that the JD(S) might come out in the open and announce its support to the ruling BJP.
The speculation reached its crescendo, after the much hyped Devegowda-Modi meet on November 30 in New Delhi, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai announced that Deve Gowda’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 December 4, Mr Kumaraswamy himself had stated that a JD(S)-BJP tie-up for the polls would be decided keeping the future interests of the JDS in mind, specifically the 2023 Assembly polls.
However, all of this seems to have received a major set-back, with the JD(S) prominent face and former MLA from Gadag district, N. H. Konareddy announced his support openly to the Congress party on Monday (Yesterday) even before the JD(S) announced its official stand of lending its support.
Mr Kumaraswamy told reporters that he has left it to ‘his party’s local leaders’ consciousness’ to lend their support in the upcoming MLC elections.
“In some constituencies, our leaders wish to back the ruling BJP and in a few others, Congress. Even though, these decisions are taken in consultation with me and in an open manner,” he said.
The JD(S)’s second-in-command maintained that there was no secret pact and local leaders would take a call. “The situation among leaders of various parties at the local level is different from that of state-level leaders, so, we need to respect their feelings,” he said and asserted that there was no difference of opinion about whom to support in these elections.
“We are neither for internal adjustment nor external adjustment. We have taken this decision in a most transparent and democratic manner. If our party had any formal or informal understanding with the BJP, why did the BJP field candidates in six constituencies where we are contesting?” he asked, adding that there was a triangular contest in constituencies where JD(S) was in the fray.
Mr Kumaraswamy argued that for him both BJP and Congress are equal enemies. “Congress has been criticising us as BJP’s ‘B’ team while BJP spreads unwarranted rumours. So, I am fighting a two-front war with both national parties and continue to fight this battle all along,” he contended.
He asserted that Mr Yediyurappa had called him personally seeking his party’s support, which shows his political maturity but for him no other BJP leader ever called him or sought his party’s support. “Therefore, we decided to leave it to our local leaders,” he said.
He said that the objective of his party was to ensure victory for JD(S) candidates in the future and also to create favourable situations for the same.
The JD(S) is contesting in six of the 25 seats in the upcoming polls, while the BJP and Congress have fielded its candidates in 20 constituencies each of the 25 seats that are scheduled for polls on December 10. The elections are being held for two seats each from the local body constituencies of Vijayapura, Belagavi, Dharwad, Dakshina Kannada and Mysuru, where both BJP and Congress have opted to field single candidate only, hence, both national parties are contesting in 20 seats each.
In these elections, members from local bodies — town and gram panchayats, municipalities and city corporations — will elect candidates.
At present, the BJP has 32 members, Congress 29 and JDS 12 with one Independent. After the death of JDS MLC Dharmegowda last year, the seat fell vacant.
