With 14 seats, JD(S) fails to impress yet again

The JD(S) changed its electioneering strategy in the BBMP elections, but failed to make an impact on Bengalureans, who have more or less ignored it.

The party, which won 15 seats in 2010, managed only 14 seats this time, though its leader H D Kumaraswamy strived hard. He had projected the JD(S) as a “non-corrupt” party, while “exposing” the scams by the Congress and the BJP. But as a lone key campaigner, he couldn’t achieve much. Chamarajpet MLA, B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, too failed to boost the party’s prospects. Though Kumaraswamy had claimed his party would win at least 40 seats, his father H D Deve Gowda had accurately predicted to Deccan Herald that the party would win fewer than 15 seats.

Of the three City MLAs representing the party, only Mahalakshmi Layout MLA Gopalaiah K has shown some success in his segment. Of the seven wards, the JD(S) retained three—  Marappanapalya, Shakthi Ganapathi Nagar and Vrishabhavathi Nagar.

The winning candidate in Vrishabhavathi Nagar is Gopalaiah’s wife S P Hemalatha, who secured most votes (16,654) among JD(S) candidates.

The wife of another JD(S) MLA Akhanda Srinivasamurthy (Pulakeshinagar) too has managed a victory. Kriya Shailaja, the former corporator, managed to retain the Muneshwara Nagar seat. But in this Assembly segment, the JD(S) just won one ward.

The worst performance is by Khan, who not only lost one of the two seats earlier won by the JD(S) in his segment, but also failed to attract Muslim voters. Khan, who was instrumental in the party giving tickets to 29 Muslim, also played a prime role in the overall selection of candidates.

Only three Muslim candidates — Umme Salma (Kushal Nagar), Imran Pasha (Padarayanapura) and Nazima Khanam (KR Market) — emerged victorious.

The party had come under the scanner for fielding candidates with criminal record. Though Imran Pasha, a history-sheeter won, his father Arif Pasha, who too has cases against him, lost from Bapujinagar. ‘Hooch Queen’ Marimuthu, who is known to win elections, has lost from Sagayapuram.

Not very encouraging

The JD(S) has managed to retain only five of the 15 seats that it had won in 2010 - Shakthi Ganapathi Nagar, Vrishabhavathi Nagar, Kaveripura, KR Market and Marappanapalya wards.
 It has wrested 5 seats from BJP; 3 seats from Congress; 1 from an Independent.
 Of the 14 seats, 6 seats have been captured by male candidates, while the remaining eight seats have been won by women.