BJP and JD (S) to part ways in local body polls in Karnataka

The JD (S) has poured cold water on BJP by deciding against entering into a pre-poll tie up with its coalition partner in Karnataka for the upcoming elections to urban local bodies.

Former Prime Minister and national President of JD (S) H D Deve Gowda told reporters that the JD (S) will field candidates in all the seats of the urban local bodies, which are scheduled to go to polls shortly.

When reporters persisted with a question whether his party would have any sort of pre-poll understanding with the BJP, Gowda shot back “When I say we will contest all the seats, it is final”.

The JD (S) supremo was speaking to reporters at a function organized in Bangalore to admit a few BJP workers from Nargund into the party fold.

Gowda’s decision to field JD (S) candidates in all the seats for the urban local bodies came as an embarrassment to the BJP, which was looking for a pre-poll tie up with the coalition partner.

Nevertheless, BJP’s Karnataka unit President Sadananda Gowda put up a brave front and said there is “compulsion” on having a poll tie-up. “As a coalition partner we wanted to project a unified force to fight the Congress. If they were to field candidates for all the seats, we will fight our own battle”, he said.

Moreover, Sadananda Gowda said the BJP had been co-ordinating with Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy to run the coalition Government. “We are not co-ordinating with Deve Gowda. We will find out what Kumaraswamy has to say on the tie-up for the elections in the co-ordination committee of the coalition partners”, Sadananda Gowda said.

BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa too aired similar views. “We are open to an alliance, but are prepared to face the elections on our own if the JD (S) is not in favour of a pre-poll understanding”, he said.

Gowda’s firm refusal to enter into any sort of pre-poll tie up with the BJP comes close on the heels of the veiled threat he held out to its coalition partner that JD (S) will abide by the rotational arrangement for the Chief Minister’s post only if the BJP abides by the common minimum action plan drawn up at the time of the formation of the coalition.

Under the rotational arrangement, Gowda’s son Kumaraswamy will become the Chief Minister of the coalition Government for a period of 20 months while the Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa will be in the saddle for the remaining 20 months of the present term.