Kumaraswamy says JD(S) is gunning for a win

Unlike the high-profile campaigns of the Congress and the BJP, the Janata Dal (Secular)’s electioneering has been a low-key affair as the party attempts to improve on its tally of 40 seats in the Karnataka Assembly.

But party president HD Kumaraswamy seems confident of coming to power in the State. “We will surely win because this time the issues are quite serious. The voters can see through the game played by both the BJP and the Congress,” Kumaraswamy told BusinessLine over phone, after another day of hectic campaigning in north Karnataka.

The JD(S), it appears, has never been more confident of winning, and on its at that. The party announced its first list of candidates much earlier than the others and even before the election dates were announced. And even though the second list is yet to be announced, Kumaraswamy said its nominees had been informed of their candidature so that they could begin electioneering.

Unlike the previous elections, whose campaign was largely run by party supremo HD Deve Gowda, this time around it is his son, Kumaraswamy, who has been managing the show, criss-crossing the State. His party’s alliance with Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which will contest 20 seats in the State, is being seen as a masterstroke by political analysts. While the BSP may not be able to win any seats, given that it lacks a base in State, there is a good possibility that the ‘elephant’ will split votes, especially in South Karnataka, where the Congress fancies its chances. “BSP will surely get some votes but those will be Congress votes,” says political analyst Harish Ramaswamy.

Kumaraswamy hit out at the Congress and the BJP claiming they are more focussed on national issues than local problems. “Nearly ₹58,000-crore worth of crop has failed. But Siddaramaiah merely keeps making promises. His announcement last year, of a loan waiver for farmers, has not been implemented so far. He has now promised to get it done by June, but that entirely depends on whether he comes to power or not,” he says. He claims that all of Siddaramaiah’s welfare schemes have remained on paper. “All these projects were launched to make money for the party. Half of the benefits, like the loan waiver announcement, have not reached the beneficiaries,” says the former chief minister. What remains to be seen is whether Kumaraswamy will be able to convince voters, especially from rural areas, that Siddaramaiah is using these schemes for his own benefit. “Siddaramaiah’s government is perhaps the most corrupt one has seen in a long time,” he says.

Even if one were to take Kumaraswamy’s charges seriously, political analysts believe that the JD(S) can at best, only hope to increase its tally by another 10 seats. “There is no doubt that the JD (S) is one of the three major parties in the State, but the main fight will be between the BJP and the Congress,” says Ramaswamy, who teaches political science at Karnataka University.

The professor does not buy Kumaraswamy’s assertion that if it does not come to power, the JD(S) would sit in the Opposition than support either of the two national parties. “ Post-poll equations can change quite dramatically. The only consolation for the JD(S) could be that it might insist that Siddaramaiah should not be the chief minister if it were to support the Congress,” says Ramaswamy.

There are deeper issues within the party which Kumaraswamy will have to resolve before he even begins to think of winning the polls. Firstly, the party has no clear stance on the issue of Lingayats and Veerashaivas being accorded a separate religion.. Secondly, the party is battling internal dissensions. In March, at least seven JD(S) MLAs crossed over to the Congress in the presence of its president Rahul Gandhi. Soon after, they voted for Congress candidates in elections to the Rajya Sabha.

But Kumaraswamy says the incident has not affected the mood within the party and points to the massive turnouts at his campaign rallies. This is in contrast with the Congress and the BJP, both of whom, he alleges, have depended on mercenaries.

It remains to be seen if Kumaraswamy’s confidence will translate into votes for a party that risks political oblivion if it can’t even mop up enough seats to be king-maker.

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