JD(S) neutrality in Parliament ploy to retain minority vote?

Maqsood Maniyar | NT

Bengaluru: The JD(S) once again maintained its neutrality with regard to the BJP and Congress, this time in Parliament as the monsoon session concluded on Friday.

The regional outfit has one Rajya Sabha member in party patriarch HD Deve Gowda and another in the Lok Sabha in his grandson Prajwal Revanna, the MP from Hassan.

Both MPs have been neutral on key issues raised in Parliament such as the no confidence motion moved by the Opposition on the ethnic violence in Manipur and the National Capital Territory (NCT) Amendment Bill, which was signed into law by President Draupadi Murmu on Saturday.

The Act allows the Centre to make rules for Delhi government officers and employees, including appointment, transfers and terms.

The law takes away even more power from the Delhi State government, which currently doesn’t have law enforcement under its control as the Union government controls the police.

Deve Gowda who travelled to New Delhi to attend the Parliament session on Thursday, did not speak on Manipur and also chided Opposition leaders for lack of decorum on the microblogging site X.

“I came to attend Parliament despite ill health, but have been very disappointed by what is happening. From my long experience, I can say that this is a new low. Democracy can be saved only if everybody maintains dignity and decorum. Shouting, name-calling and sloganeering will destroy what is left of our system,” he said.

Rethinking alliances after poll drubbing

The neutrality can be traced to May 10 when the party had received a drubbing in the Assembly elections bagging only 19 seats down from 37 in 2018.

Following that JD(S) legislature party leader HD Kumaraswamy had considered tying up with the BJP for the Lok Sabha elections of 2024 over “the party’s existence”.

The two even decided to “work together” as Opposition parties on the floor of the House, jointly attacking Congress over alleged irregularities in the Bengaluru-Mysuru corridor project which is currently owned by Nandini Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE).

However, on July 25, Deve Gowda conceded the concerns of party MLAs and distanced himself from the BJP and announced that the JD(S) would go it alone in next year’s general elections.

It was being whispered that a multitude of JD(S) MLAs fear losing Muslim votes if they are to contest elections alongside the saffron party. The likes of Deve Gowda’s son and Holenarasipura MLA HD Revanna and Chamundeshwari MLA GT Deve Gowda had been particularly vocal about not tying up with the BJP.

Poaching fears

The JD(S) has had to maintain a distance from the Congress because of an existential crisis brought on by poaching attempts by the Grand Old Party.

Congress led by Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar and CM Siddaramaiah are reportedly trying to engineer the defection of two-thirds of JD(S) MLAs (at least 13).

This would enable the rebels to claim the party symbol and avoid by-polls. Both parties also woo the same Vokkaliga support base in the old Mysuru region.