The Karnataka Congress has set a target of 150 seats in the 224-member assembly, for which it wants to cut into as many votes as possible from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (Secular). However, Congress insiders say that the party has chalked out a concrete plan to reduce the JD(S) influence, especially in the old Mysore region.
The old Mysore region has 89 assembly seats, including Bengaluru, and is dominated by the Vokkaligas – Karnataka’s second largest community after the Lingayats. Vokkaliga has largely supported JDS as a party and is a significant part of the election voting pattern.
“Our strategy is to ensure that we take maximum number of seats from BJP or JDS. Our target is to win 150 seats, for which we have to ensure that we eat into the vote share of both BJP and JDS.
The BJP is yet to make inroads in the Old Mysore region as the electoral battle has always been between the JDS and the Congress.
So is Congress trying to corner JDS?
“The JDS is a rival of the Congress in the old Mysore region and hence they need to deal with it. The Congress should make a dent in the Vokkaliga vote bank considering the role of DK Shivakumar as the State President in the Congress. This would mean reducing JDS,” said political analyst Sandeep Shastri.
He observed that since the last election, the JDS has hardly made any presence and continues to have small pockets of influence. Shastri says that the JDS alliance with the Congress has caused him a lot of damage.
“I don’t think this has affected the vote bank of the Congress in the old Mysore region, but I can’t say the same about the JDS,” he said. I think he has got the chief minister’s post and the face of the government when it comes to electoral politics, the JDS has been on the slide,” Shastri said.
The Congress seems to be on the offensive against its former allies JDS and HD Kumaraswamy.
It is important to note that Kumaraswamy has been extremely critical of the Congress, especially the current leader of the opposition in the state assembly, Siddaramaiah, who, incidentally, was in the JDS till 2005. Deve Gowda expelled Siddaramaiah, accusing him of “anti-party activities”. And soon joined Congress in 2006 in a public meeting.
During a public meeting in Mysuru’s Lingadevara Koppalu village last week, Siddaramaiah decided to speak his heart out on his exit from the JDS. He said that he has often been accused of switching loyalties but there is no truth in it. He said that in the 2006 elections, the JD(S) and the BJP made a pact and defeated the Congress.
“He again tried to join hands with the BJP in 2018. But, this time it will not happen. Our Congress workers realized whom to trust and have decided to defeat BJP and JD(S). Don’t be surprised because this time also there is a possibility of internal agreement between BJP and JDS.
Kumaraswamy was made the chief minister in the JDS-Congress coalition government after the 2018 assembly elections. The two parties joined hands to keep the BJP out of power, even though it had emerged as the single largest party with 104 members.
Raising the electoral pitch further, Kumaraswamy challenges Siddaramaiah to form his own party and win at least five seats in the upcoming elections. This was Kumaraswamy’s reply to Siddaramaiah when the Congress leader had claimed that the JDS would not be able to win even 20 seats. In 2018, JDS had won 37 seats but it has come down to 30 due to defections.
Kumaraswamy has set a target of 123 seats in the upcoming elections which he feels is possible with the success of his ‘Pancharatna Yatra’. The yatra, which was launched by Kumaraswamy, has completed 50 days and promises to improve people’s lives in five vital areas – health, education, employment, agriculture and housing.
JDS will shine all over the country. The target of 123 seats will be achieved and I warn them (Congress). If they keep speaking bad about JDS, they will only lose their existing seats,” Kumaraswamy said.
“The impact of the Pancharatna Yatra on the ground has been minimal. It may be the fans of the Deve Gowda family who may be affected, but not the people of Karnataka. My readings and our surveys show that Congress has a lead and we are confident of victory.
Siddaramaiah has accused the JDS of being responsible for the rise of the BJP in the state. Stating that the regional party lacks vision and commitment, the former Congress CM also said that the JDS will forge an alliance with any party that has a chance of forming the government.
“They have never been in power through coalitions and have not been able to do so on their own. He has resorted to only one more winning party, but this time he will be taught a lesson by the people,” Siddaramaiah said.
The upcoming election will be a crucial test for the BJP and the Congress, which are trying to climb to power on their own, and is do-or-die for the JDS.
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