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JD(S) eyeing new vote banks ahead of K’taka assembly polls
In the latest attempt to attract new vote banks, former Karnataka chief minister and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy offered an apology to the Veerashaiva-Lingayats on Monday.
Janata Dal (Secular) or JD (S) leadership in Karnataka, which traditionally relied on the Vokkaliga vote bank in the state, is now looking at alternate vote banks, people close to developments said on Wednesday.
In the latest attempt to attract new vote banks, former Karnataka chief minister and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy offered an apology to the Veerashaiva-Lingayats on Monday.
Addressing the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community in Mysuru, he appealed to them to ‘forget old incidents’ and even stopped short of apologising to the community for not handing over the chief minister post to BS Yediyurappa in 2007.
“I request you, with folded hands, to support our candidate, Mallesh. The times have changed now. If you agree to support Mallesh, I will ensure to empower you in all possible ways. Please forget old incidents. I have always helped whoever comes to me without asking his caste,” Kumaraswamy said.
Kumaraswamy and Yediyurappa formed an alliance in 2006, which led to the fall of the Dharam Singh-led coalition government. According to the terms, Kumaraswamy had agreed to give up the CM post after 20 months to Yediyurappa, but when the time came, the JD(S) leader refused to do it, which led to the collapse of the government. Since then, it is said that the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community has harboured a grouse against the JD(S) and Kumaraswamy.
“BJP is powered by the Veerashaiva community. But the way BJP is treating him is sad. BS Yediyurappa might say he is working for the party, but when he was the CM, he was made to wait for three days to get an appointment with the PM. The BJP high command did not build the BJP in Karnataka. It was Yediyurappa who built the party. Even Bommai is facing the same issue. He is just a CM for the namesake, and all orders come from Delhi. He could not even induct five ministers,” Kumaraswamy said.
The JD(S), often identified as the kingmaker, traditionally depended on the Vokkaliga vote bank in the old Mysuru region for its vote share, the aforementioned people said. However, with DK Shivakumar emerging as Vokkaliga leader and CM face from the community, the JD(S) is trying to expand its voter base. Before reaching out to the Veerashaiva voters, the party had attempted to extend its support to the Muslim community.
The party has appointed a Muslim state president. Days after CM Ibrahim was made the party chief, in November 2022, Kumaraswamy had said that Kumaraswamy said that the party was open to having a Muslim chief minister if the party came to power independently.
Speaking to the media at Kyaluru village in Kolar district on November 22 last year, Kumaraswamy said the party was also open to the idea of having women and Dalit deputy chief ministers, and such discussions were only possible in JD(S).
A senior BJP leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that JD(S) fears losing the Vokkaliga vote bank to the BJP. “We have been gaining traction because of our outreach over the last few years. By-election victory in KR Pet in Mandya district in 2019 was an indication of the party breaching of the JD(S)’s Vokkaliga dominance,” he said.
However, analysts familiar with the region pointed out that the BJP is yet to make an impact on the region.
“JD(S) is still strong in the region. Yes, they were the weakest in 2019, but it is unlikely that there would be a massive shift towards the Congress or BJP. As I see it, the JD(S) appealing to other communities is part of their attempts to increase their voter base rather than a reaction to a fear of losing ground. In the Mysore Karnataka region, JD(S) continues to be strong. BJP won’t be able to shift votes by installing a statue of Kempegowda. In the case of Congress, DK Shivakumar is still not a mass leader for the Vokkaliga community to move a large number of votes from the JD(S) to Congress,” said A Narayana, a political analyst.
