Battleground Karnataka
Gowda predicts a hung house; sees JD(S) role
The first big Iftar party of Lutyens Delhi was held by Bahujan Samaj Party MP Kunwar Danish Ali at his Pandara Road bungalow. It was attended by over a hundred members of Parliament from both the ruling and opposition parties, as well as diplomats, former vice-president Hamid Ansari and CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury. The evening’s centre of attraction was former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda as most of the guests wanted to know which way the wind was blowing in his home state, Karnataka. The 89-year-old enjoyed the attention and animatedly engaged with all as kababs were served and sherbets flowed. He predicted a defeat for the BJP government. But added that the main opposition party, Congress, may not get a majority on its own. Predictably, he said that his party, Janata Dal (Secular), would play a key role in the formation of the next state government. The JD(S) has a strong presence among the Vokkaligas, which is Deve Gowda’s caste. The JDS had bagged the post of chief minister after the last assembly election in 2018 as the two larger parties failed to secure a majority. According to Deve Gowda, the result of the current election will be the same as the last one. He did not clearly say which party he will support but hinted at his preference for the opposition Congress. The state is scheduled to vote on May 10 and the results will be announced on May 13.
Political Strokes
BJP-JJP Haryana pact teetering on the brink
The Haryana ruling alliance between BJP and the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) of deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala, great-grandson of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal, is on the brink of collapse. Sources said that the BJP plans to fight all 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state on its own in the next general elections in 2024. In the last assembly elections, the BJP had emerged as the single largest party with 40 seats, six short of the majority mark of 46 in the 90-member House. The JJP had won 10 seats. The two parties joined hands to form a coalition government.
The JJP is considered a Jat party with a large support base in the community. Its impressive showing in the last assembly election was largely due to the huge support it received from the Jats. Over the last three years, however, the Jats have moved away from the ruling coalition. They are said to be veering towards the opposition Congress, which is headed by Jat leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, a two-time former chief minister of the state. In the changing scenario, the BJP would like to turn the election into a Jat versus non-Jats contest. Jats constitute 22% of the state’s population and their long dominance of the state’s politics has had a unifying effect on the other social groups. BJP has been a beneficiary of this polarisation. It, therefore, suits the BJP to fight the election without allying with a Jat party. The BJP now commands the support of 47 MLAs, including the independents, and the loss of JJP as an ally will not pose a threat to the stability of the Manohar Lal Khattar government. The break of BJP-JJP relations is a matter of time.