BENGALURU: The dismal performance of the JDS has come as a big jolt for its leaders, who were expecting to bag at least 30 seats, and position senior leader HD Kumaraswamy as the CM candidate in the event of a fractured mandate.
Listing out the reasons for the debacle, several JDS leaders said that the party was a sort of victim of collateral damage as people had resolved to throw away the BJP government and hence solidly voted for Congress. “There was so much anger against the BJP government that people wanted it to go. This anger worked in favour of Congress for which there was consolidated voting. Unfortunately, the anger on BJP had its effect on JDS,” a leader said. “People also badly wanted a stable government. As many think JDS can’t form a government on its own also went against the party,” a leader said.
It is analysed that Congress received massive support from the Lingayat community while the backward and minority communities also favoured them in a big way, which led to the loss of votes for the JDS in some pockets. Added to the damage was a major split of Vokkaliga votes in Old Mysuru and it cost too dear to the JDS. Also, too much dependence on the Old Mysuru dented the party’s numbers, as the party suffered heavy losses in four key districts - Mandya, Hassan, Ramanagara, and Tumakuru - which were considered JDS strongholds.
The leaders also feel that the party could have convinced the people about the benefits of the ‘Pancharatna’ schemes in a more effective way. “While pancharatna rallies were heavily funded, the party could not arrange funds for the campaign in the last few days. This also cost us some seats as many candidates did not even have funds to meet the election expenses,” another leader pointed out.
AAP FAILS TO OPEN ACCOUNT
Bengaluru: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has successfully managed to expand its base from Delhi to Punjab, failed to replicate it in Karnataka. Caught in the crossfire between the Congress and the BJP, AAP and other smaller parties failed to make an impact.