India
oi-Madhuri Adnal
Ahead of the upcoming 2023 Karnataka elections for the 224-member assembly, the state is experiencing a season of shifting political loyalties.
Here is a look at the cross-overs and acquisitions taking place in Karnataka politics:
The recent developments – of JD(S) leaders quitting the party or threatening to quit – hint at a different picture. The most recent crisis erupted in Arsikere constituency where JD(S) MLA KM Shivalinge Gowda announced that he would soon join the Congress.
Former Minister and JD(S) MLA representing Chamundeshwari Assembly constituency in Mysuru G.T. Deve Gowda openly expressed dissent against Kumaraswamy. K Srinivasa Gowda, JD(S) MLA from Kolar was unhappy as he was not given a preferred position and started distancing himself from the party. Srinivas Gowda is now eyeing the Congress. AT Ramaswamy from Arkalgud, has also said that he will definitely contest the elections, but is yet to decide which party.
The three factors that led to the Lingayats shifting loyalties to BJP in Karnataka
The saffron party is also facing an attrition challenge as party leaders jump ship and are joining opposition Congress. The latest to put in his papers is sitting MLC Puttanna. He is a four-time MLC and was elected from the Bengaluru Teachers’ constituency. Later, he joined the Congress in the presence of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president D.K. Shivakumar, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah, and AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala. The Congress is expected to field Puttanna from one of the constituencies in Bengaluru–either from Rajajinagar or Yeshwantpur.
The next three leaders who quit BJP and joined Congress are former Kollegala MLA G N Nanjundaswamy and Manohar Ainapur, a former MLA from Bijapur, along with former Mysuru mayor Purushottam.
Earlier, expressing their displeasure over not being recognised and given tickets despite serving the saffron party for decades, HD Thammaiah and KS Kiran Kumar joined the Congress. Thammaiah, a BJP Lingayat leader who has been working for the BJP for the last 18 years, but never got the opportunity to contest elections. He was reportedly eying to contest from Chikkamagaluru constituency. Thammaiah’s switch can be damaging for the BJP, which is aggressively campaigning to get the support of the state’s dominant Lingayat population, who form 16-17% of the electorate.
Another staunch supporter of Yediyurappa, Kiran Kumar, who belongs to Sadar Lingayat – CM Bommai’s community – quit the BJP after realising that they are unlikely to field him from Chikkanayakanahalli constituency represented by law minister JC Madhuswamy.
According to media reports, two BJP ministers, V. Somanna and KC Narayana Gowda, are likely to switch to Congress and have maintained a distance from party activities.
This comes former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said that all sitting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs, except four to six, will be given tickets to re-contest in the elections. He further said that whoever wants to join BJP is welcome and similarly, whoever wants to leave the party can go happily.
Bhaskar Rao, former Bengaluru police commissioner and prominent face of the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP in Karnataka, quit the party and joined the BJP. His entry into the BJP adds to speculations over a possible change in the party’s pick of candidate for a Bengaluru South constituency in the coming elections.
Loyalty, winnability deciding factors for a Congress ticket in Karnataka
Meanwhile, the grand old party to ensure it wins a majority in the upcoming elections, it has been in touch with ministers such as KC Narayanagowda, K Gopalaiah, and ST Somashekar
Also, some of the 17 rebel legislators who deserted the grand old party and joined the BJP to help Yediyurappa form government in 2019, are now keen to return to the party fold.
It must be noted that the BJP is eyeing 130 seats, as claimed by state president Nalin Kumar Kateel, and winning even the magic number of 113 will give the party a fillip in a big election year, especially with Lok Sabha polls in 2024.