BENGALURU: The Janata Dal (Secular) is hoping to make a strong comeback. The party could be staring at a do-or-die scenario, as the number of seats it wins may largely decide the future course of the party.
The JDS, which formed a coalition government with the Congress in 2018 by winning 37 seats in the 2018 polls, went on to lose its MLAs to other parties, and is now reduced to 29 MLAs. With elections fast approaching, the JDS is trying hard to retain its seats in Old Mysore region, which has been its bastion, while also working out strategies to win as many seats as possible in North and Central Karnataka.
The party, to a certain extent, has overcome the crisis of not having candidates to field in several seats, by taking advantage of dissent in the Congress and BJP, and drawing their aspirants to JDS. Party leaders are hopeful that this exercise will help the party stay in the race.
The perception that JDS doesn’t get to form its government independently, as it has to depend on either the BJP or Congress, may have an adverse effect. Though its leader HD Kumaraswamy tried to make a point that the party values its workers, by choosing a worker over a family member for the Hassan ticket, it’s a tough task to erase the deep-rooted belief among people that the party is family-centric.
Kumaraswamy, who earned the tag of a ‘pro-people’ and ‘pro-poor’ CM during his first stint as chief minister, could not repeat a similar spell in his second stint of 14 months. As the party heavily depends on his popularity and charisma, the impact will be known only on May 13.
Also, the party has publicised its ambitious ‘Pancharatna’ programme, which assures voters that it will address basic issues such as health, education and employment, but it needs to be seen how seriously voters have taken the assurances.
Strengths
Enjoys support of Vokkaligas, farming community
No confusion over leadership, CM candidate
Committed party workers
Weaknesses
Branded ‘family-centric’ party
No strong base across state, especially in North Karnataka
No second-level leadership