Around 30km from Bengaluru is a sprawling coconut plantation at Bidadi, owned by Janata Dal (Secular) leader and former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy. The plantation recently played host to a big gathering of party leaders and workers, with rows of tents and convoys of cars interrupting the calm of the countryside.
The eye of the action was the farmhouse, where Kumaraswamy had earlier spent several months in solitude to plan the huge event and chart a roadmap for the party. The first phase of the event involved JD(S) legislators and ticket hopefuls painstakingly answering an exhaustive questionnaire—what they thought of their abilities and attitude, how they viewed the party and its leadership, their understanding of the social and political dynamics in their constituencies, their big strategy to win the seat, and so on. As they answered the queries, Kumaraswamy played the role of the invigilator. Later came his PowerPoint presentation that unveiled his grand plan—the JD(S) roadmap to victory in the 2023 assembly polls.
Under Kumaraswamy, the party is quietly gearing up to expand its reach beyond the traditional base in the Old Mysuru region. Sensing that the hung verdict after the 2018 polls and the prevailing political volatility in the state have presented a great opportunity, Kumaraswamy has launched ‘Mission 123’ to win a clear majority in the 224-member assembly. The first part of the mission was Janata Parva—a seven-day workshop at Bidadi for legislators, ticket hopefuls, heads of the party’s various wings and party workers.
“Mission 123 is a roadmap for the party to conquer new territories while keeping the old bastions safe,” said Kumaraswamy. “We want to form government independently; we have endured enough as part of coalition governments.”
With Mission 123, JD(S) has hit the ground running. It has announced a list of 126 probable candidates and is preparing to hone their leadership and social media skills with the help of analysts and motivational speakers. Taking a leaf out of the BJP’s campaign in West Bengal, the JD(S) has also graded the assembly constituencies into five categories.
“We graded all 126 constituencies as A+, A, B, C and D based on the party’s presence and strength in those constituencies,” said Kumaraswamy. “A 30-point programme—a list of tasks—has been given to each candidate. They will now be required to strengthen booths, enrol members and reach out to voters.”
According to state party president and Sakleshpur legislator H.K. Kumaraswamy, the Bidadi workshop has energised party cadres. The party plans to hold similar workshops at the taluk and district levels. “We are trying to find capable candidates in other constituencies,” he said. “Each probable candidate has been given tasks. The party has assigned a secret observer to each constituency, and they will give a ground report to the leadership. In January 2022, the party will evaluate the performance of the candidates. [Those who get green cards] will be officially declared as our candidates for the 2023 polls; the others will get a red card, implying their performance was not up to the mark.”
The Bidadi event had a “corporate touch” that greatly impressed JD(S) workers, most of whom come from rural areas. Said Nayaz Shaikh, party candidate for the bypoll in Hanagal on October 30: “The workshop streamlined processes and created avenues for direct reporting of the progress made on the ground. If this unique programme is implemented in the right spirit, it can work wonders for the party.”
Kumaraswamy has unveiled a manifesto—called ‘Pancharatna Yojane’—that promises reforms in five crucial areas: education, health, agriculture, youth and women empowerment, and employment and housing. “If elected, we will allocate Rs25,000 crore to each of the five sectors every year to create capital assets,” he said.
The manifesto also promises free education for all children till Class 12, housing for the poor, and welfare schemes for farmers to make them self-reliant. “My government had waived off farm loans worth Rs25,000 crore,” said Kumaraswamy. “But such waivers are only a temporary solution. So we will guarantee fair price for farm produce, build market, storage and transport facilities, and rework farm subsidies to lessen the burden on farmers.”
The manifesto also envisions upgrading health care facilities at the village level and providing at least one job to every household. “We will attract investors who can create jobs locally. Investors seeking to set up manufacturing facilities in tier-2 and tier-3 cities will get incentives,” said Kumaraswamy. “The demand for Hindu Rashtra can wait. Our youth need jobs to take care of their families.”
With the DMK coming to power in Tamil Nadu, the YSR Congress in Andhra Pradesh and the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, the JD(S) is hopeful of its own revival. “There is a wave of regionalism across the country,” said party spokesperson Kona Reddy. “The Pancharatna plan is enough to win seats for the JD(S). Also, Kumaraswamy has credibility as a pro-people chief minister who waived off farm loans. If this master plan is implemented, nobody can stop him from becoming CM in 2023.”
But, will the JD(S) really be able to take on the BJP and the Congress, which are national parties? “When we started the workshop, we believed we must target only 123 seats,” said Kumaraswamy. “But after deliberations with political experts, we realised that we have to go all out. The JD(S) is not an also-ran party; it holds a sizeable vote share of 20 per cent. We are not starting from scratch; we are building on the votes we have.”
The JD(S) is formulating region-specific plans to contest all 224 seats. “Till now, we focused only on rural seats. There are 60-70 seats where we can woo urban voters, too. The urban areas predominantly have dalit, tribal, backward and minority communities, besides women voters, who make up 49 per cent of the electorate. We will identify potential leaders from these groups to expand our base,” said H.K. Kumaraswamy.
The women’s conference at Bidadi saw participation from all taluks. Ramanagara MLA Anitha Kumaraswamy said the party’s women leaders have to “think and act” independently. Describing her father-in-law—party chief and former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda—as her role model, Anitha urged each woman worker to train at least 100 other women and reach out to all voters in their booths.
Kumaraswamy said the party would field at least 30 women in the 2023 polls. “Women-oriented schemes have paid off politically,” he said, citing the examples of West Bengal, where women are given a monthly stipend, and Delhi, where women are provided free public transport passes.
Amid rumours of infighting within the Gowda family, Kumarawamy’s son Nikhil Kumaraswamy and Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna (Kumaraswamy’s brother H.D. Revanna’s son) took part in the youth conference and pledged to work together to improve the party’s position. The cousins demanded that 25 per cent of party tickets be allotted to young leaders.
Apparently, Kumaraswamy’s larger plan is to make the party more inclusive. “The JD(S) is not a family party,” said Kumaraswamy, “but a party of party workers.”