This ‘introspection’ comes even as reports indicate that some party legislators are allegedly considering shifting over to the Congress or the Bharatiya Janata Party.
In the run-up to the byelections to three constituencies in Karnataka, it would appear rumbles of discontent within the Janata Dal (Secular) has come to the fore again. Amid several controversies and a reported rift between national president and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and his son and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, the party is set to hold a meeting of “loyalists” to “introspect” on Monday.
This ‘introspection’ comes even as reports indicate that some party legislators are allegedly considering shifting over to the Congress or the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Party leaders and legislators are not sure of what to expect from the meeting. “Nothing will change. Finally it is the Gowda family which calls the shots. One member of the family will occupy the State unit president’s post,” said a depressed senior party leader.
The JD(S), which was a force to reckon with till Mr. Kumaraswamy joined hands with the BJP to form a coalition government in the State in 2006, began losing ground after the 2008 Assembly elections, when party legislators defected to the BJP.
It faced further defeats when the party’s candidate and Mr. Kumaraswamy’s wife, Anitha Kumaraswamy, lost the byelection to the Bangalore Rural Parliamentary constituency in 2013, and Mr. Kumaraswamy lost the Chickballapur LS constituency to Congress leader M. Veerappa Moily in 2014 general elections.
While many JD(S) leaders blamed the party’s poor performance on a ‘tacit’ understanding with the BJP “with or without the consent of Mr. Gowda”, they seemed infuriated further when the JD(S) joined hands with the BJP in the election to the post of Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Council recently.
Then again, though the JD(S) has formed an open alliance with the Congress for the Shikaripur bypolls, Mr. Kumaraswamay has been campaigning against Chief Minister Siddaramiah over the scrapping of the KPSC selection list.
Such confusing signals are expected to be the key focus of discussions at its meeting on Monday.
Recently, to keep legislators from leaving the party, Mr. Kumaraswamy took them to Sri Lanka and managed to hold them together. It is also said that on his return, Mr. Kumaraswamy appealed to Mr. Gowda to remain a mentor and allow the second-rung leaders to take decisions in the changed political scenario. But, Mr. Gowda has so far refused to vacate the post of president of the party.
