JD(S), SDPI come closer to fight BJP

SDPI wishes to contest Mysore-Kodagu, M’lore, B’lore central constituencies

It seems that after biting the bitter pill of forging an alliance with BJP in the recent by-elections to the Parliament from Mandya and Bangalore rural seats, Janata Dal (Secular) in the State, is warming up to the Muslim vote bank through Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), for the elections to Lok Sabha, slated to be held in Karnataka on April 17.

SDPI, though a fledgling, has proven its might in the previous general elections to the Assembly in the State, and also the local bodies, making inroads into the traditional vote base of Congress party — Muslims. This has given JD(S), also a partner in the third front to explore the possibilities of an alliance with SDPI. Also, for both JD(S) and SDPI, the common foe is the saffron party.

State president of SDPI Abdul Majeed, who is camping in New Delhi to give finishing touches to the possible alliance back home, told Deccan Herald that two rounds of talks have been held with JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy in Bangalore.

The final round of talks in three to four days, is expected to arrive on a consensus over seat sharing, a possibility that cannot be ignored, said Majeed.

Causes

According to the sources in JD(S), in the run up to the elections, the leaders had decided either to field a Lingayat or a Muslim. The party had also made up its mind to field a former MLC from BJP, a Lingayat after wooing him to the party. When that leader proved cagey, the higher ups decided to scout for a Muslim candidate and thus ensued the talks with SDPI.

Sitting MLA from K R Nagar, Sa Ra Mahesh has been asked to be ready, in case of an inevitable situation.

Presence

The national executive of SDPI that has already given its go ahead for the alliance has decided to contest the forthcoming polls from at least 42 constituencies. After Kerala, where the party is fielding its candidates in all 20 LS seats, Karnataka will be the second highest, with the party contesting in not less than six to seven against the total 28 LS seats.

It includes Mysore-Kodagu, Bangalore Central and North, Mangalore, Udupi-Chikkamagalur, Gulbarga and also Haveri. In case of an alliance, the JD(S) will have to support SDPI, especially in Mysore, Mangalore and Bangalore Central, the three constituencies SDPI is confident of giving other parties a stiff competition.

SDPI claims to have 1.5 lakh votes in hand in Mysore-Kodagu seat, while JD(S) is hoping for over 2.5 lakh votes. This brings the total to about four lakh votes of the 15 lakh electorate.

For Mysore, Majeed himself is a ticket aspirant, besides State vice-president Shabbir Mustafa and State council member M F Khaleef.

What has boosted the confidence level of SDPI is its good performance in the previous Assembly polls, where in N R Assembly segment in Mysore, the party came near second, giving a pyrrhic victory to the Congress.