BENGALURU: With Karnataka heading for assembly elections on May 10, party-hopping – politicians switching from one party to another – is reaching its peak. This trend rides on self-interest, to make the most of power politics at the individual level, while ideological moorings, party loyalty and commitment to the people take a backseat.
Getting tickets to contest elections is the foremost goal, with the expectation that the party they plan to jump to would hold the reins of the next government. On their part, political parties look at the ‘winnability’ factor, while throwing doors wide open to party-hoppers.
Once political parties declare their candidates, things are expected to heat up. The disappointment among those not getting tickets to contest polls will emerge as the factor pushing them to take the jump. Other parties wait for such ‘rebels’ with the capability to win seats, to join their ranks. The JDS is likely to invite more of them as it does not have a pan-Karnataka base.
Political party bosses feel the motive is to win more seats and form the next government by hook or crook, which fuels the need to absorb turncoats. For instance, K S Kiran Kumar in Chikkanayakanahalli in Tumakuru district, who has strong Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) roots, H Nagesh in Mahadevapura and Puttanna in Rajajinagar in Bengaluru, joined the Congress and have already been declared candidates in the party’s first list of 124.
There was harsh criticism of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar over keeping some seats vacant just to accommodate newcomers. Former Gubbi MLA SR Srinivas and Arsikere MLA KM Shivalinge Gowda, both from the JDS, were also assured of party tickets.
Some BJP leaders, wary of the rising anti-incumbency against Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and his government, have held several rounds of talks with the KPCC chief on the prospects of jumping to the Congress.
Former MLA UB Banakar in Hirekerur, HD Thammanna in Chikkamagaluru, Mohan Limbikai from Dharwad (all supporters of former CM BS Yediyurappa), Manjunath Kunnur from Shiggaon and NY Gopalakrishna, who resigned as MLA from Kudligi, have joined the Congress.
With rumours floating of Housing Minister V Somanna moving to the Congress, Union Home Minister Amit Shah himself intervened, summoned Somanna to New Delhi and convinced him to stay on. For some senior leaders, party-hopping is an option to groom their children in a party that assures them of tickets. Shah made this promise to Somanna.
In the JDS, Chamundeshwari MLA GT Devegowda, who was ready to quit, was stopped by the party leadership and was promised that his son would be given the Hunsur ticket. Bommai has alleged that KPCC chief Shivakumar has been calling BJP leaders to join the Congress, and is keeping certain seats vacant for them. But Shivakumar questioned Bommai’s integrity as he heads a government that was formed after ‘Operation Lotus’, which saw 17 MLAs, including 13 from the Congress, resign to help Yediyurappa form the government in 2019.
But according to Congress manifesto committee vice-president Prof KE Radhakrishna, there will be a “reaction to reaction” when it comes to party-hopping. “Operation Lotus is a mutton shop defection, in which one sells himself,” he remarked.
If it is being likened to a mutton shop now, the leader of the opposition in the Council BK Hariprasad had earlier kicked off a row by allegedly likening the 17 MLAs to sex workers.
Party-hopping has another face to it. There are instances of parties leaving their leaders in the lurch for various reasons. JDS declared A Manju – who was a minister in the Siddaramaiah-led Congress regime – as Arakalgud candidate, following which JDS MLA AT Ramaswamy, who has a clean image even in the present political scenario, resigned from his post and joined the BJP.
Notably, Manju had contested the Lok Sabha polls in 2019 from Hassan on a BJP ticket and lost to Prajwal Revanna, grandson of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda. He had moved the High Court and Supreme Court, seeking disqualification of Prajwal’s election as the latter had allegedly concealed his assets in his affidavit filed before the Election Commission.
Interestingly, Manju’s son Manthar Gowda is a Congress ticket aspirant from Madikeri assembly constituency. Former MLA YSV Datta severed his relationship of four decades with Deve Gowda and the JDS, and joined the Congress as he felt the latter party can “safeguard democracy”.
Former ministers Pramod Madhwaraj and Varthur Prakash, former LS member from Tumakuru SP Muddahanumegowda, and former MLA KS Manjunath Gowda, among others, have joined the BJP. It may be noted here that former chief minister SM Krishna – who was external affairs minister under the UPA government of Manmohan Singh – joined the BJP in the twilight of his political career.
NOT A NEW PHENOMENON
Party-hopping is a phenomenon prevalent across the globe, but becomes more evident in a massive democracy like India, rendering the trend even more glaring. Rashtranayaka and AICC president (1959-62) S Nijalingappa, former Karnataka chief minister, was known for his opposition to party-hopping. In fact, in 1969, he held a preliminary meeting at the Glass House in Lalbagh in Bengaluru and eventually split the Congress due to his differences with then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He, along with several other prominent leaders, formed a new political party, the Indian National Congress (Organisation).
Former CM BS Yediyurappa formed the Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP) in 2012 and returned to the BJP in 2014. Transport minister B Sriramulu launched the Badavara Shramikara Raitara Congress in 2011. Recently, his friend Gali Janardhana Reddy launched Kalyana Rajya Pragati Paksha.
Former chief minister S Bangarappa, known as the champion of backward classes, was a well-known turncoat and also a successful politician -- he switched from the Congress to Karnataka Kranti Ranga, launched Karnataka Congress Party (KCP), and won as MP from Shivamogga both on the BJP and SP tickets.
Former chief minister Siddaramaiah, who started his career contesting the taluk board polls as Raitha Sangha candidate, changed parties seven-eight times, including Lok Dal, Samajwadi Party, Janata Party, Janata Dal, JDS, AIPJD, before landing in the Congress.
The Jarkiholi brothers, ‘sahukars’ from Belagavi, were in three different parties, including the JDS in the past, apparently to safeguard their families’ interests, especially businesses. Ramesh Jarkiholi was prominent among the 17 MLAs who triggered the collapse of the JDS-Congress government led by H D Kumaraswamy. He had to resign as a minister following a sleaze CD scam. He had switched from the Congress to BJP, and now there are rumours of him quitting the saffron party.
Former ministers AH Vishwanath and A Manju, and former MLC Puttanna are among those who have done the party circuit of the Big 3 -- Congress, BJP and JDS. The anti-defection law of 1985 is ineffective in stopping defections, and it is up to the people to teach such leaders a lesson at the polls. While there was some deliberation on making defectors wait for five years to contest polls, it goes against one’s right to freedom to change parties.