Nothing much to gain in Karnataka bypolls, but JDS rolls up sleeves for fight
MYSURU: If the byelections are crucial for the BJP to stabilise its government and for the Congress to pull it down, there is nothing much for the JDS other than make its presence felt as the third alternative. However, the party would seek to retain Hunsur, KR Pet and Mahalakshmi Layout and also eye a few more Vokkaliga seats.
Seeking to take control of the Vokkaliga-dominated constituencies like Chikkaballapur, Hoskote and Yeshwanatpur and a few other seats in Bengaluru, the party may field strong candidates. Former minister and JD(S) leader CS Puttaraju said the party had taken the byelections seriously and would want to not only retain its seats but add a few more to its kitty.
It may not contest in a few seats where it has no organisational base. The party had to face embarrassment in the Lok Sabha elections with no candidates to field in eight seats allotted to it. So now it may not take a chance and contest all the 15 seats.
JDS supremo HD Deve Gowda has been saying all along that his party will contest the bypolls on its own. But both Gowda and his son, former CM HD Kumarswamy, have sent a message to their party workers by taking a soft stand towards the BJP and saying that they will not allow the Yediyurappa government to fall after the byelections. This could mean that party may look to divide the anti-BJP votes in multi-cornered contests to benefit Yediyurappa.
Political commentator Prof Harish Ramaswamy said the JDS should first re-establish its secular credentials.The JD(S) first family, which has locked horns with Siddaramaiah blaming him for the fall of the coalition government, wants to see his political end more than the fall of the Yediyurappa government as they see the Ahinda leader, who has a strong social base, as a threat.