JD(S) eyes Mysuru-Kodagu, Kolar Lok Sabha seats

Maqsood Maniyar | NT

Bengaluru: J D(S) in its initial seat sharing negotiations has conveyed to the BJP that it would be willing to make concessions on some seats, provided it is accommodated in others.

JD(S)’ local leaders have told the saffron party they would concede Bengaluru Rural and Tumakuru if they are allowed to field candidates from MysuruKodagu and Kolar.

This demand comes as a surprise to many since it was initially rumoured that JD(S) state president HD Kumarswamy would contest from Bengaluru Rural against Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s brother and incumbent MP DK Suresh.

This would have made things easier for the regional party since laying claim to the constituency would be easier given that it wouldn’t require the BJP to displace a sitting MP.

Kumaraswamy is the MLA of Channapatna in Ramanagara district, which falls under the Bengaluru Rural seat.

Tumakuru is represented in the Lok Sabha by BJP’s GS Basavaraj, who had beaten JD(S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda by a narrow margin of 13,339 seats in 2019.

However, the conversation has since then pivoted to Kumaraswamy contesting from Mandya, which is held by BJP-backed independent Sumalatha Ambareesh.

The actress-turned-politician might be asked to move to Bengaluru North, candidacy for which would be open since sitting MP Sadananda Gowda has announced retirement from electoral politics.

However, it remains to be seen if Sumaltha would accept the offer.

HDK’s Mandya bid changed calculus?

If Kumaraswamy does indeed contest from Mandya, it would have some influence on neighbouring district of Mysuru, where the JD(S) is pushing to field a candidate.

The issue is that the incumbent MysuruKodagu MP is BJP’s Pratap Simha. The regional party is considering fielding JD(S) MLA from Krishnarajanagara SR Mahesh from the Lok Sabha seat.

Congress, which doesn’t have a particularly strong candidate for the seat is hoping to field a Vokkaliga face like ST Somasekhar, who is the BJP MLA from Yeshwantpur.

He was one of the Operation Kamala turncoats and is rumoured to be considering a switch back to the Grand Old Party. He is also considered a stellar choice for the Bengaluru North candidacy.

Kolar on the other hand is represented by saffron party’s giant killer S Muniswamy who had wrested the constituency from seven-time MP KH Muniyappa.

Alliance navigates Vokkaliga bastion

The issue facing the coalition partners is that the BJP dominates the Lok Sabha polls with the advantage of being perceived as a national party and as such aren’t keen on conceding too many seats to their partner, even in Old Mysuru.

The Deve Gowdaled party on the other hand can claim a greater support base in the Vokkaliga heartland, where the BJP isn’t particularly strong.

For instance, the saffron party won only six of the 61 seats in the region in May’s Assembly elections.

The BJP, however, has 25 MPs plus one independent in Karnataka out of a possible 28, making it difficult for them to displace their incumbents to facilitate the JD(S).