Task cut out for HDK as JD(S) chases elusive prospects in North Karnataka

Unfazed by the exit of prominent leaders, the JD(S) wants to strengthen its base in North Karnataka, a region where the regional party’s prospects are feared to dwindle with Legislative Council chairperson Basavaraj Horatti deciding to move on and join the BJP.

Earlier, former Navalgund lawmaker N H Konaraddi had quit the JD(S). Horatti is the party’s Lingayat face from North Karnataka.

Also Read: Limbikai says he will be BJP candidate, not Horatti for Karnataka Council elections

Speaking to DH, former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy maintained that the party’s prospects will not fluctuate with leaders quitting. However, the party is weak in Hubballi-Dharwad, he admitted, and said they would begin revitalisation of the party here.

“The good thing is we have leaders here who are willing to work with us. We are making all efforts to strengthen our base,” Kumaraswamy said.

A senior JD(S) leader told DH that the party is looking for candidates in Belagavi, Koppal and Dharwad.

“However, we have not yet found candidates who can take on the BJP. We are still figuring a way out,” the leader said.

In the 2018 Assembly polls, the JD(S) won 38 seats with an 18.3 per cent vote share. Its vote share was 44 per cent in the Sindgi constituency.

But, in the 2021 bypoll, the JD(S) lost badly garnering 4,353 votes (2.66 per cent) against the 70,000 it polled in 2018.

The party has five seats in North Karnataka - Manvi (Raja Venkatappa Naik), Gurmitkal (Nagangouda Kandkur), Bidar South (Bandeppa Kashempur), Sindhanur (Nadagouda Venkatrao) and Nagathana (Devanand Fulasign Chavan).

Strengthening its base in the region becomes crucial for the party, even as it aims to come to power on its own.

“But, the party has a long way to go in that direction. The JD(S) never had a strong base in North Karnataka. Its strength has always been the districts in the old Mysore region,” political analyst D Umapathy said.

“Typically, their candidates in the region have been those who did not get tickets from the other two big parties. Most of its candidates in the region have won on their personal charisma rather than the party’s name,” he pointed out.

The party cannot bank on its prospects here. Any gains will be a bonus, he added. Even down south, the JD(S) has several MLAs who are lined up to quit.

Also, the 2021 Legislative Council elections from local authorities constituencies indicated that the JD(S) is losing ground as Congress candidates won from Mandya, Tumakuru and Kolar, which were seen as the regional party’s stongholds.

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