BJP-JD(S) to form two panels to target Congress ahead of GBA polls in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Alliance partners BJP and JD(S) have decided to constitute two coordination committees to sharpen their fight against the ruling Congress.

One committee will exclusively look into the alliance activities in Bengaluru, where the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) polls are expected to be held soon. 

The other will deal with matters across the state, including the zilla panchayat and taluk panchayat (ZP and TP) elections that will follow the GBA polls.

The decisions were taken after BJP state president B Y Vijayendra, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, and other BJP leaders met JD(S) leader and Union minister HD Kumaraswamy on Tuesday. Kumaraswamy is said to have suggested the plan with two committees. 

If the two parties face the GBA elections together, it will be their third outing together after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the bypolls to three Assembly elections. Though the alliance performed well in the Lok Sabha polls by bagging 19 of the 28 seats, it bombed in the subsequent Assembly bypolls in November 2024, where the alliance lost all three seats. 

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Vijayendra said: “Kumaraswamy has suggested that we should have a coordination committee for Bengaluru, where GBA polls will happen, and another committee for the state. They have said that they will send their names in a week or 8-10 days. After that, I will discuss it with our party leaders and we will decide on the coordination committees.”

Vijayendra explained that they had discussed the administrative “deterioration” in the state. 

“You are seeing the disorder in Bengaluru," Vijayendra said. "The state government and ministers are behaving so arrogantly that they aren’t listening to advice by seniors like Mohandas Pai, Kiran Mazumdar Shah about Bengaluru and the situation of roads. Ministers are only attacking such seniors and criticising them on social media. This doesn’t bring respect to the state government.”

According to sources, discussions also revolved around the RSS issue (Minister Priyank Kharge’s letter to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seeking a ban on RSS activities on government premises and a subsequent government order which prevents private organisations from holding programmes on government properties without permission), challenges in the GBA limits and the upcoming ZP and TP elections.