Fight for LS polls in K'taka warms up as BJP-JD(S) come closer

Bengaluru, Sep 10 (IANS) As the BJP and the JD (S) inch closer to an alliance in Karnataka, the fight in the Lok Sabha elections has intensified. The Congress government which was having a dream run following implementation of its guarantee schemes in the state will now face stiff competition.The Congress leadership which bombarded the opposition leaders with taunts following its thumping victory in the assembly elections will have to watch out for the opposition BJP and JD (S) forming a bloc.

Political analysts are divided on the political gains and whether the alliance will have an impact on the influential Vokkaliga vote bank in south Karnataka. The Congress managed to wrest a five per cent vote share in the south Karnataka districts considered as bastions of the JD (S).

Political analyst Channabasappa Rudrappa told IANS that the entry of the JD(S) into the NDA is seen as a turning point in Karnataka politics. It is being viewed as a morale booster for the BJP and JD(S) leaders, who had become almost irrelevant in state politics after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's emergence as a formidable leader.

“The JD (S) may regain its 5 percent vote share in the Vokkaliga belt. The Vokkaligas always vote strategically. In the 2002 parliamentary by-election in Kanakapura, they supported Deve Gowda, a JD(S) leader, as their caste man S.M. Krishna was already the chief minister of the state.

"Here in Bangalore SM Krishna, there in Delhi Deve Gowda” was their slogan. They will follow this strategy this time too. They want to see Kumaraswamy in the Union cabinet if the NDA comes back to power,” Rudrappa said.

Former BJP MLC Captain Ganesh Karnik told IANS that, as a political party we have the interest of the common man as a priority. Since winning the assembly elections, the Congress has only one strategy -- to destroy Karnataka.

To save Karnataka from misgovernance and to ensure that people get justice, whether it is the Cauvery water issue or the economy, we welcome the JD (S) joining us and also to ensure that the good work being done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji continues, Karnik stated.

“People who are with the BJP and the JD (S) together are the larger majority which is against the Congress. Definitely it will tilt the scales. This alliance will strengthen the NDA further and the kind of disappointment the people have experienced during the last 100 days of Congress rule will further consolidate our presence in Karnataka and add to the kitty of the NDA in a big way,” Karnik explained.

Journalist B. Samiulla told IANS that, in the last Lok Sabha elections in 2019, the Congress and the JD (S) had an understanding. Both the parties got one seat each while the BJP managed to win 25 out of 28 seats.

The alliance at the level of leaders will have to get converted at the level of workers as well. Now the BJP and the JD (S) are forming a bloc. However it is to be seen how it will work out.

For instance, the BJP will have to give the Hassan Lok Sabha seat. BJP leader Preetam Gowda is a sworn enemy of the Deve Gowda family and will he support the JD (S) candidate is a question.

The BJP is contesting the Mandya Lok Sabha seat and Sumalatha Ambareesh, the sitting MP, is likely to be given a ticket by the BJP. There is no chance of JD (S) workers supporting her, Samiulla said. However, sources said that Ambareesh is being convinced by the BJP to contest from the Bengaluru North seat presently held by former CM and Union minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda.

Samiulla added that, B.N. Bache Gowda, the sitting BJP MP from Chikkaballapur, is unlikely to get a ticket and his son Sharath Bhache Gowda is a Congress MLA. He will definitely not work for the BJP or JD (S) candidates. Similarly, if the Tumakuru Lok Sabha seat is given to the JD (S), Muddahanume Gowda who had joined the BJP with the promise of a Lok Sabha ticket will not work for the alliance.

“How can the BJP-JD (S) alliance win seats in the state? It is too early to predict. The Congress will ensure that the beneficiaries of its schemes get their instalments of monthly allowances before the parliamentary elections to counter PM Modi’s influence,” Samiulla stated.

He said that first national general secretary B.L. Santhosh called for a meeting to strengthen the party and showed his upper hand. Yediyurappa later held a meeting and led the protest against the Congress government. The BJP which seemed comatose all these days, got a new life. On the other hand Kumaraswamy had posted that he will fight and make a comeback. A parallel force is coming up in the state leading to political polarization.

The delegation of former CM Basavaraj Bommai visiting the KRS dam in the backdrop of the Cauvery dispute is also an indicator.

Every third home in Karnataka is a beneficiary of one or the other guarantee scheme. The number of beneficiaries has reached 2 to 3 crores in the state. The women are feeling empowered after getting a monthly allowance.

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