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In Karnataka, as discontent within JD(S) grows; national parties benefit
The dissent within the JD(S) comes at a time when the party continues to be relegated to the end of the political battle that is mainly being fought between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress
The Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S) is scheduled to meet on Monday not just to discuss the party’s strategy in the 10-day session between September 13-24 of the state legislature but also decide the next course of action against growing discontent within its ranks.
In the last few weeks, the party’s top leadership was heard making scathing remarks against at least three of their legislators that include GT Deve Gowda, SR Srinivas (Vasu) and now K Srinivas Gowda who represent Chamundeshwari, Gubbi and Kolar constituencies respectively.
Considering the party has just 32 legislators in the 225-seater lower house of the state legislature, the possible disciplinary action and growing discontent within the party against them constitutes a problem for the former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy-led regional outfit.
“It (taking disciplinary action) is still under discussion and nothing has been decided. This issue is likely to come up on Monday,” HK Kumaraswamy, state president of the JD(S) told Hindustan Times on Friday.
“The session is on for two weeks and we will get an idea on this (containing growing dissent),” he added.
The dissent within the JD(S) comes at a time when the party continues to be relegated to the end of the political battle that is mainly being fought between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress. With the BJP actively moving forward to take their footprint deeper into Old Mysuru Region or Vokkaliga belt, the JD(S) stares at further erosion of its only stronghold in the state ahead of the 2023 assembly elections.
All three legislators who possibly face disciplinary action could not be reached for comment.
The JD(S), whose support mainly stems from the Vokkaligas, believed to be the second largest caste group in the state, is now running short of options to keep its flock together, analysts said.
“The JD(S) is nothing but a fill-in-the-gap party. They will go with whoever assures them power,” said a north Karnataka-based political analyst, requesting not to be named.
He added that the party’s “unprincipled” political functioning will further add to its oblivion in the state as workers get disenchanted with its functioning and enamoured by the BJPs rise.
The JD(S) is the only major political outfit that has allied both with the BJP and the Congress in the past and had bitter fall outs, albeit temporarily. The party continues to have alliances at the local level with the two national parties that have added to the disenchantment of grass root level workers ahead of the soon-to-be held Zilla and Taluka panchayat elections and the 2023 assembly polls. The JD(S) is in talks with the BJP in Kalaburagi district where the Urban Local Body (ULB) polls on September 3 has given the former a chance once again to play “Kingmaker”-- a role it has played in state and local administration on more than one occasion.
The BJP is also trying to mobilise support in the southern districts of Karnataka where JD(S) draws most of its strength in terms of elected representatives to the lower house of the legislature.
The BJP is eyeing an outreach to the Vokkaliga community by first forming a board and doling out a whopping ₹500 crore for it and now having an advantage to play to the benefit of the community in the raging caste census row. The Vokkaligas have so far firmly stood behind HD Deve Gowda.
The dominant communities like Vokkaligas and Lingayats have now come together to oppose the release of the findings of the caste census data that was commissioned by the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in 2015 as a way to safeguard their dominant position in the state.
A group of extremely backward castes approached the Karnataka High Court in August to compel the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government to release the findings of the caste census as a way to block attempts by more dominant communities from moving up the reservation ladder.
Another Benglauru-based analyst said that it would be more beneficial for the BJP to side with the dominant communities’ demand rather than depend on the support of a fragmented backward classes group who are not known to vote en masse.
“(HD) Deve Gowda, Kumaraswamy and HD Revanna, who is liked by all political parties, will continue to be Kingmakers and this could go up to 2023 elections also. We cannot rule them out,” Professor Chambi Puranik, a political analyst said.
He added that those leaving the party or considering it are doing so to secure their own future or that of their family’s and not because of ideological reasons.
