MYSURU: JDS supremo HD Deve Gowda’s statement about mid-term polls to the Assembly being imminent has left Congress and JDS members in a tizzy. Though coalition leaders, as well as Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, tried to save face by saying all is well in the coalition, the damage was done.
Gowda’s comment has pushed the coalition partners to a slippery ground even before the state administration could return to business after the Lok Sabha elections.
Both Congress and JDS legislators do not want mid-term term polls, fearing that the BJP and Modi factor still have a strong hold on Karnataka. The BJP’s thumping victory in Mysuru region, a Vokkaliga stronghold, has sent a strong message to the sitting legislators.
Party members say it will be difficult to explain to the voters on what ethical grounds the Congress and JDS came together. They would also be forced to answer what they had delivered in the past one year. They fear that these questions will amplify the anti-incumbency, which will in turn result in existentialist crisis for both Congress and JD(S).
JD(S) state president A H Vishwanath, on the other hand, defended Gowda. He said Gowda is, in fact, fed up with the attitude of some of the leaders. He added that JDS does not want to be controlled by any other party, in this case Congress.
According to BJP spokesperson G Madhusudhan, there is nothing much to read in Gowda’s statement. He said that Gowda’s move was only to blackmail the Congress and to keep the MLAs on their toes. He added that Gowda is in no mood to lose or give up power.
Political commentator Prof Muzaffar Asadi thinks Karnataka will not go for mid-term polls for at least a year. Going for mid-term polls is unwarranted and it will be suicidal for the coalition partners, he said.