JD(S)-BJP alliance: A former PM's last resort to save his party?

When the Narendra Modi-led BJP government in 2019 decided to abrogate Article 370, JD(S) supremo and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda was among the most vocal critics of this decision. “Modi is trying to turn India into a Hindu Rashtra,” he had said.

Be it the post Godhra riots or the Bababudangiri Datta Peetha row in Chikkamagaluru, Gowda has never shied away from criticising the BJP. In fact, he had announced that he would retire from politics if Narendra Modi came to power in 2014.

In what seems antithetical to his brand of politics thus far, Gowda recently announced that his party would ally with the BJP for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, sending jitters among the party cadre. 

A senior Congress leader, who has closely followed Gowda’s political career over the decades, said Gowda had never compromised with RSS and BJP until now. For the last five years, with age and political setbacks such as the Muslim vote bank moving away from the party, circumstances have forced him to ally with the BJP at the cost of his “secular” credentials. “This move merely seems to be done to rehabilitate his family,” the leader said. 

The JD(S) supremo has several times in the past expressed that he was not on board with this son H D Kumaraswamy’s decision to ally with the BJP in 2006. 

Even though the shift in his stand doesn’t come as a surprise to JD(S) leaders, anxiety and a tinge of awkwardness has set in among them. One leader summed up their dilemma: “It’s no longer about ideology. It is about survival.”

Political analyst A Narayana opines that the “secular” tag in the party’s name itself was added with the strategy of garnering Muslim votes along with the party’s Vokkaliga vote base.

“The secular credentials of Gowda are as good as any other centrist political formation in Karnataka. The alliance today is not surprising as the intent is the party’s survival. The reason for siding with the BJP is their perception that they did not get the Muslim votes in 2023 elections. They do not see any political incentive to keep their secular credentials intact,” he said. 

The battle is to specifically retain the seats in the Old Mysore region. In the recently held Assembly polls, the JD(S) lost all but one seat in its turf - Hassan. Winning an overall 19 seats, the party’s vote share shrunk to 13.3% from 18.36% in 2018. 

JD(S) leaders admit this is a double-edged sword. “Yes, we may win three or four extra seats in the Lok Sabha polls. But what after that? What if our party cadre goes away with the BJP and doesn’t come back home after the elections? That will impact all other elections including Assembly, the BBMP polls,” one leader added.

They are also worried about their cadre deserting them in North Karnataka in areas such as Kalaburagi, Bidar and Raichur where they have a good base.