Karnataka bypolls: JD(S) losing sheen in bastions as party draws a blank

The Janata Dal (Secular) is clearly losing its sheen, as its Vokkaliga-dominant bastions in the Old Mysore region now stand breached.

The saffron party, which has been steadily making inroads in the region, has had the last laugh. In the crucial bypolls to 15 Assembly seats, the BJP has won more than the number of seats needed to retain power. It has won or is leading in 12 out of 15 seats that went to the bypolls, while the JD(S) drew a blank.

The JD(S) failed to retain the three seats that fell vacant after three of its rebel MLAs—A.H. Vishwanath (Hunsur), Narayana Gowda (KR Pet) and K. Gopalaiah (Mahalakshmi Layout)—resigned along with 14 Congress MLAs, leading to the collapse of the H.D. Kumaraswamy government. But the BJP launched a tactful campaign, chanting the development mantra and deploying deputy chief ministers and ministers to put up a united fight, resulting in a windfall for the saffron party.

Mandya, the sugar bowl of Karnataka, left a sour taste in the JD(S)'s mouth after the BJP, which had never crossed 20,000 votes in KR Pet in previous elections, swept the bypolls.

With the JD(S) fielding B.L. Devaraj and the Congress K.B. Chandrashekhar, to counter BJP's Narayan Gowda in KR Pet, there was a split in the Vokkaliga vote as all three belong to the same community. The BJP seized the opportunity and consolidated the non-Vokkaliga votes—Lingayats, Kurubas, dalits and backward classes.

The BJP focussed its campaign on the development of the district and brought a separate manifesto too for the constituency. The fact that Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa hails from Bookanakere village in KR Pet taluk struck the right chord with the voters.

The aggressive campaign in KR Pet under the leadership of Deputy Chief Minister Dr Ashwathnarayan and Hassan MLA Preetham Gowda and the chief minister's elder son, B.Y. Vijayendra, who camped in the constituency for 15 days, seems to have paid off. The JD(S), which suffered a shocking defeat in its strong bastion—Mandya—in the Lok Sabha elections, is once again rattled as the JD(S) rebel who jumped ship to the BJP has pulled off a win with a margin of more than 9,000 votes.

During the Lok Sabha polls, then chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy’s son, Nikhil, was defeated by independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh. The last time, the JD(S) leaders had made personal attacks against their opponents and this had made the voters wary. This time again, Kumaraswamy's call to "teach rebels a lesson" perhaps helped them earn the sympathy of the voters.

Narayan Gowda was also prevented from campaigning and some miscreants threw slippers at him. Narayan Gowda had also alleged humiliation at the hands of the Deve Gowda family. The popular notion was that the first family of the JD(S) did not tolerate the "development" of other Vokkaliga leaders.

In Hunsur, the JD(S) candidate finishing third, hinted at a secret pact between the JD(S) and the Congress only to defeat BJP candidate Vishwanath. On the other hand, Vishwanath lost sizeable number of Vokkaliga and Kuruba votes, owing to his ongoing feud with JD(S) supremo Deve Gowda and fellow Kuruba and former chief minister Siddaramaiah of the Congress.

According to sources, the JD(S) was more keen on defeating its rebels rather than winning seats and that sent a wrong message to the voters.

In Mahalakshmi Layout, the JD(S) found it difficult to find a candidate after the exit of K. Gopalaiah, one of the disqualified MLAs who joined the BJP. The growing popularity of the BJP in urban areas and Gopalaiah's ability to hold on to his individual vote bank, reduced the JD(S) to a non-entity in the bypolls.

Amid the gloom, Kumaraswamy fired a sarcastic jibe via Twitter. “A senior BJP leader had called this government as 'intolerable' and the voters across the 15 seats seem to have endorsed this statement by voting for the 'holy' and 'stable' government,” tweeted H.D. Kumaraswamy.

"In Mandya, we were unable to win a single seat. But today, we have won. This was possible only due to the hard work of our organisation and cadres. Next Assembly elections, our target is 150+," said Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, who urged the opposition to stop criticism and focus on the development of the state.

"We have won 12 out of 15 seats with huge margins. My cabinet colleagues have toiled hard. Some taunted us, saying it is an unstable government. At least now, I hope the opposition will focus on development. I don't want to play petty politics,” Yediyurappa declared.

Reiterating that he would keep his promise to the winning rebels, Yediyurappa said in the upcoming cabinet expansion, he would induct all the winning candidates as promised. "I will be visiting Delhi soon to meet and apprise Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi and National [BJP] president Amit Shah," said Yediyurappa.