The JD(S), which was hoping to raise its profile in the Mumbai-Karnataka and Hyderabad-Karnataka regions, has got only a lukewarm response from the electorate in the Urban Local Bodies (ULB) polls.
Even in its stronghold, the Old Mysore, the JD(S) has fared badly this time. But the drop in its tally in the north is sharper than it is in the south Karnataka.
In the 2007 ULB polls, the party had bagged 283 seats of the total 1,623 seats in the Mumbai-Karnataka region comprising Belgaum, Bijapur, Bagalkot, Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri and Uttara Kannada districts.
Similarly, out of the total 956 seats in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region that includes Bellary, Bidar, Gulbarga, Yadgir, Raichur and Koppal districts, the JD(S) had bagged 261 seats.
This year’s polls, the party has secured 132 seats in Mumbai-Karnataka region and 149 seats in the H-K region despite the hectic campaign and special focus by state JD(S) president and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy. Highlighting his achievements as the CM, Kumaraswamy toured extensively in both the regions with a view to creating a strong base for his party.
The JD(S)’s score in the two regions in 2007 was mainly because of two reasons: firstly, the BJP-JD(S) coalition government was in power at that time, and secondly, the Congress was in a terrible mess owing to groupism and dissidence.
This time, in the Mumbai-Karnataka region the JD(S) has won only six seats (of the total 392 seats) in Belgaum district, 25 (of the 150 seats) in Bijapur, 18 (290) in Bagalkot, 29 (156) in Dharwad, 8 (203) in Gadag, 5 (193) in Haveri and 41 (239) in Uttara Kannada.
In H-K region, the party has won 6 (of the total 246 seats) in Bellary district, 36 (149) in Bidar, 36 (213) in Gulbarga, 12 (98) in Yadgir, 34 (154) in Raichur and 25 (96) in Koppal.
The people in many districts of these regions have now preferred the Congress to the BJP and the JD(S).
State JD(S) Parliamentary Board president Basavaraj Horatti told Express that he was shocked by his party’s performance in these regions. “We started preparing for the polls six to eight months before the poll date was announced. Several aspirants, who failed to get tickets, contested as rebel candidates, thus spoiling the chances of official candidates. We have lost many seats by a narrow margin. We need to pull up our socks and work hard for the coming Assembly polls,” he said.