Desertions force rethink in JD(S)

With a majority of the senior leaders quitting the Janata Dal (Secular) in the last three months, the party has decided to field youngsters in the next assembly polls.

The party had to witness a rebellion from top leaders after former prime minister H D Deve Gowda withdrew support to the one week-old BJP government led by B S Yeddyurappa last year.

Some of the best known faces in the JD(S) like former deputy chief minister M P Prakash quit the party along with 11 former ministers and legislators. All of them joined the Congress recently. Former deputy chief minister Siddaramaiah was also successful in accommodating his followers (six former ministers and legislators of JD-S) in the Congress.

Former ministers G T Deve Gowda and B N Bacche Gowda, once considered trusted lieutenants of Gowda, have resigned from the JD(S) to join the BJP. The party faced another setback when senior leader P G R Sindhia joined the Bahujan Samaj Party, which is making inroads into the state political landscape.

The party has lost the support of Lingayats (largest community in the state) as it dumped the Yeddyurappa government by withdrawing support. The BJP is dominated by Lingayat leaders in the state.

The JD(S) also attracted the ire of the Kuruba community (other backwards) by proposing reduction in reservation for them in the state. The Kurubas were further infuriated when community leader Siddaramaiah was asked to resign from the deputy chief minister's post by Gowda in the erstwhile Congress-JD(S) coalition government.

The JD(S) extensively relied on the Vokkaliga (second largest community in the state) vote bank, especially in South Karnataka districts. However, with most of the Vokkaliga leaders of these districts quitting the party, the JD(S) is finding the going tough.

Not willing to admit that the desertion had weakened the party, JD(S) state president Merajuddin Patel said youngsters would be groomed. "We are keen on fielding youngsters in at least 40 per cent of the constituencies. We are confident of returning to power. H D Kumaraswamy will be the chief ministerial candidate of the party," he told reporters here on Wednesday.

He said the JD(S) sympathised with its leaders who have joined the Congress: "The Congress has been flooded with chief ministerial candidates from all parties in the last one year. No one is keen on a collective effort in that party. Each leader wants to be either a minister of chief minister."

Patel took potshots at the Congress for general secretary Rahul Gandhi's mission to Karnataka. "Look at the way the state Congress is treating him. Rahul Gandhi is not even aware of the country's problems at the grassroots. He was here only to enjoy the tribal dance," he added.

He contended that Rahul Gandhi's visit is unlikely to impact the assembly polls. "The Congress is under the impression that there will be a huge vote swing in its favour. But the reality is that voters in the state are not interested in him nor his credentials as a leader," Patel said.