The decision was announced following a meeting of JD(S)leader HD Kumaraswamy with Home Minister Amit Shah and party president JP Nadda.
JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy with JP Nadda, Amit Shah and others. (X)
Making it official that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (Secular) — the JD(S) — would jointly take on the Congress in Karnataka, the two parties announced their alliance on Friday, 22 September.
Days after former Karnataka chief minister and senior BJP leader BS Yediyurappa declared the coming together of both parties, BJP national president JP Nadda on Friday made an official announcement of an alliance with the JD(S) in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The decision was announced following a meeting of JD(S) leader and former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy and his son Nikhil Kumaraswamy with Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
After the meeting, Nadda said on X, “I am happy that JD(S) has decided to be the part of National Democratic Alliance. We wholeheartedly welcome them in the NDA. This will further strengthen NDA and vision of Hon PM Narendra Modi Ji for ‘New India, Strong India’.”
Met Former Chief Minister of Karnataka and JD(S) leader Shri H.D. Kumaraswamy in the presence of our senior leader and Home Minister Shri @AmitShah Ji.
I am happy that JD(S) has decided to be the part of National Democratic Alliance. We wholeheartedly welcome them in the NDA.… pic.twitter.com/eRDUdCwLJc— Jagat Prakash Nadda (Modi Ka Parivar) (@JPNadda) September 22, 2023
During the Karnataka Assembly elections, BJP leaders — including Prime Minister Narendra Modi — had deemed the JD(S) a “father-son” party and appealed against voting for “Parivaarwad” (dynastic politics). Both parties performed abysmally in the polls.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah welcomed the JD(S) into the NDA, saying this alliance would lead Karnataka on the path of development.
“Met former Karnataka CM and JD (S) leader Shri H.D. Kumaraswamy Ji along with BJP President Shri @JPNadda
Ji. Expressing their trust in PM @narendramodi Ji’s vision of a developed India, the JD(S) has decided to be a part of the NDA. I warmly welcome JD(S) to the NDA family. Their association will lead Karnataka on the path of development and pave the way for a stronger NDA and a stronger India,” Shah wrote on X.
Met former Karnataka CM and JD (S) leader Shri H.D. Kumaraswamy Ji along with BJP President Shri @JPNadda Ji. Expressing their trust in PM @narendramodi Ji's vision of a developed India, the JD(S) has decided to be a part of the NDA. I warmly welcome JD(S) to the NDA family.… pic.twitter.com/LAM9uZdqKe
— Amit Shah (Modi Ka Parivar) (@AmitShah) September 22, 2023
Headed by former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, the JD(S) has long been a strong third player in Karnataka, where the Congress and the BJP have been the two main parties.
The last time the JD(S) and the BJP were in an alliance, HD Kumaraswamy refused to give way to BS Yediyurappa for the chief minister’s chair, compelling a breakup.
Riding high on the sympathy wave, Yediyurappa drove the BJP to emerge as the single-largest party in the 2008 Assembly polls, but it fell short of seats, giving rise to the trend of horse-trading of MLAs in what is infamously called “Operation Lotus”.
The JD(S), meanwhile, has been on the decline ever since. It suffered a sharp decline in the recent Assembly polls in the state, with the Congress scoring a big win.
The BJP, which heads the NDA, believes an alliance with the JD(S) will ensure its domination in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as the regional party enjoys considerable influence in South Karnataka, where the saffron party has traditionally been weak.
However, several JD(S) MLAs and BJP leaders have publicly expressed unhappiness about this alliance.
“Even JD(S) state president CM Ibrahim is said to be disappointed with Deve Gowda and [his son HD] Kumaraswamy on the matter,” sources in the party told South First earlier.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the JD(S) joined hands with the Congress in Karnataka, contesting seven Lok Sabha seats. However, it managed to win only one segment — Hassan, which is its stronghold.
Several JD(S) MLAs and former lawmakers have opposed the party’s decision to form an alliance with the BJP for 2024.
Gurmitkal MLA Sharangouda Kandkur, Devadurga MLA Karemma G Nayak, and other leaders have expressed discontent over the alliance to the party high command.
“Several MLAs, former MLAs, senior leaders, and candidates who lost the Assembly polls are disappointed with this development. They are against this alliance as they are worried about their future,” Kandkur told South First earlier.
He added: “It is my personal opinion that it is not the right time to make an alliance with any political party. If the party had plans to fight the general elections along with the BJP, why did the high command not do this during the Assembly elections?”
He pointed out: “If the party had made an alliance with the BJP in Assembly polls, we might have come to power by defeating the Congress, which won a record 135 seats.”
Kandkur also said: “The 2007 political drama between the JD(S) and the BJP over power-sharing had a big impact on our party. After this episode, the party’s vote share continued to go down in all the subsequent Assembly polls, but the BJP’s vote share saw a steep increase. What is the future of JD(S) after the general elections?”
Ibrahim is reportedly miffed with Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy for forging an alliance with the BJP.
“JD(S) president CM Ibrahim is disappointed with the party high command’s decision… Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy are taking all the major decisions in the party. Senior leaders are worried about their future. BS Yediyurappa announced that the BJP high command had agreed to leave four seats to the JD(S), but made a U-turn the very next day,” on condition of anonymity, a JD(S) MLA told South First earlier.
Several BJP leaders, including former Hassan MLA Preetham Gowda, also expressed disappointment over this alliance and called it “suicidal”.
They were unhappy with the party’s decision to make an alliance with the JD(S) for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections despite winning a record 25 Lok Sabha seats in 2019, claimed sources in the party.
Expressing disappointment, Gowda had earlier told South First: “It is not like I am unhappy with the party’s decision. The ground reality is party workers are not happy about this development — especially in Hassan. We did not approach the JD(S) for an alliance. They knocked on our doors for a coalition. The proposal is still under consideration. There is nothing concrete either about alliance or seat-sharing in the BJP.”
He added: “I will fight tooth and nail to get a Hassan ticket for the BJP instead of giving it to the JD(S). The BJP making an alliance with the JD(S) is suicidal for our party. I come from the Sangh Parivar. The Parivar politics is different. One needs to compromise in Parivar politics.”
In an interview with South First ahead of Karnataka Assembly polls, then BJP minister and party’s manifesto committee chief Dr K Sudhakar had insisted that he would be unhappy about a BJP-JD(S) alliance.
(With PTI inputs)
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