Poll ploy? Modi slams Cong but mum on JD(S) in Vokkaliga heartland

BJP leaders know that attacking Deve Gowda in the Vokkaliga dominant Mandya and Ramanagar would cause damage to the saffron party

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Bengaluru: Has the ruling BJP already decided to seek the support of the Janata Dal (Secular) to form the next government if it fails to get a majority in the crucial Assembly polls? It looks so after hearing the speech of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who dedicated to the nation the 10- lane Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway on Sunday.

Throughout his speech, Modi targeted the Congress Party and its leaders for trying to ‘dig his grave’. But, the PM remained silent on the Janata Dal (Secular), a party of former PM H.D.Deve Gowda who enjoys good chemistry with Modi. In the past, Modi had called up Gowda several times to enquire about his health and hosted him at the PMO.

These goodwill gestures give a feeling that the BJP is cosying up to the regional party to defeat the common enemy, the Congress. PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah know well that preventing the Congress from grabbing power must be their first priority in the wake of reports on a fractured verdict in the coming Assembly polls, akin to the 2018 situation.

For this reason, Modi is trying to be in the good books of the JD(S) as the BJP may require their support to form a coalition government if it gets the numbers. The BJP leaders also know that attacking Deve Gowda in the Vokkaliga dominant Mandya and Ramanagar districts would cause more damage to the saffron party than help it.

The people of these two districts have an emotional attachment wiith Deve Gowda and still consider him the top Vokkaliga leader in Karnataka. So Modi might have felt it better to ramp up the attack on the Congress Party and spare the JD(S), said sources. Sources said the BJP also wants Opposition Leader in the Assembly Siddaramaiah to lose the coming election.

For this to happen, the party needs to have a tacit understanding with the JD(S), added sources. In Mandya and Ramanagar, it is the JD(S) that can give a strong fight to the Congress Party, and reduce its tally in these two districts.