Editorial: Polls ahead, party hoppers in action

If there is one party in Karnataka which has thrived on defections, it is the ruling BJP which came to power twice-in 2008 and in 2019 by engineering defections from the Congress and JD(S). In 2008, the saffronists swept to power for the first time on their own winning 110 seats in the 224-member Assembly and finding themselves short by a few seats, got five Independents to switch sides. The party did not stop at that and got seven MLAs of the Congress and JD(S) to resign and contest bypolls. Five of them won and the BJP secured a comfortable majority in the House.

It was the same story in 2019 when the BJP smelt an opportunity after the shaky Congress-JD(S) coalition led by HD Kumaraswamy proved to be a non-starter with differences cropping up between Congress leader Siddaramaiah and HD Kumaraswamy of the JD(S). The BJP got 14 Congress MLAs and three of the JD(S) to pull out of the coalition, bringing down the Kumaraswamy government. Yediyurappa was back in the saddle and it was no legitimate poll victory which got him the CM gaddi again this time.

Now with the Karnataka Assembly polls hardly a year away, the ‘Aya Rams Gaya Rams’ are back in action with a former Congress minister, former JD(S) legislators and ex-bureaurcrats making a beeline for the saffron fold. The big catch for the BJP were Pramod Madhwaraj from Udupi, ex-MLAs Manjunath Gowda and Varthur Prakash and ex-MLC Sandesh Nagaraj. The fact that even a former AICC secretary had jumped onto the BJP bandwagon proves that the Congress will have to do a lot more to keep its flock intact.

People would ask a pertinent question: Why does the BJP have to scout around for potential defectors after every assembly poll? The answer lies in the fact that the party is yet to sink roots in the Old Mysuru region where the Congress and JD(S) continue to hold sway. Vokkaliga community dominated districts like Mysuru, Mandya, Hassan and Chamarajnagar sent as many as 16 JD(S) MLAs to the Assembly while the BJP had to be content with just seven. So despite a significant presence in other regions like MumbaiKarnataka, Hyderabad-Karnataka and the coast, the party is finding it difficult to make up the numbers because of a poor show in Old Mysuru.

It remains to be seen if the BJP can reverse the trend in 2023 but the fact that it has been able to ensnare some leaders shows that nothing is impossible in politics and people’s choices and party bastions may change in no time. The latest defections are also an eye-opener to the Congress that despite its high hopes of upstaging the BJP riding on the many scams and non-performance of the Bommai government, nothing can be said about poll outcomes with no perceptible wave in sight.

Public memory is short and it could be a different set of issues which weigh on voters’ minds when the polls are due. The defections are sure to gain pace as the polls near for any politician worth his salt would not be like to be on the losing side and is sure to gauge the popular mood. Has the Opposition done enough to stem the saffron onslaught is the big question.