BENGALURU: The results of the Hanagal and Sindagi bypolls have proved that the JDS leadership has little or no traction among voters beyond Old Mysuru region, and the party’s inability to improve its base.
Almost all six JDS MLAs from constituencies in North Karnataka, including the late M C Managuli of Sindagi, perhaps won due to their own image, with the party playing a secondary role, during the general elections. But the drubbing in the bypolls, especially in Sindagi, gave a clear indication that unless the party fields an established leader, it will fail to make the mark.
By fielding its candidate Niyaz Shaik in Hanagal, where it has no base, the party faced humiliation as it could garner a mere 927 votes, and the minorities went with the Congress candidate. Down south, JDS has a strong base in five districts, but is facing a problem in its ranks with leaders like Gubbi MLA S R Srinivas, who debuted as an independent and won four times, poised to quit the party.
Srinivas feels he can win on his own steam. When veteran leader and Chamundeshwari MLA G T Devegowda also showed such symptoms, the party leadership was quick to patch up. “Did Devegowda ever say he will quit the party? My grandson Nikhil and his son Harish have held discussions,” JDS supremo H D Deve Gowda said, expressing hope that Devegowda will stay on in the party.
Though Gowda and Kumaraswamy said the bypoll results are not disheartening as they will have no bearing on the 2023 general elections, party insiders informed TNIE that Gowda is upset, in particular about the debacle in Sindagi. He is worried that despite his intense campaign and his contribution to irrigate the constituency when he was chief minister, candidate Naziya Angadi lost her deposit.