Wary of Cong’s poaching attempt, JD(S) works to keep flock together

BENGALURU: The reason for the slugfest between JD(S) and Congress over the alleged cash-fortransfer business is moves by the grand old party to split the regional outfit before Lok Sabha elections next year, JD(S) functionaries say. Aware of the danger, JD(S) supremo and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and his son and former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy have devised a strategy to keep their flock together.
As part of these plans, the party has constituted a core committee headed by Chamundeshwari MLA GT Deve Gowda who will instil confidence in party MLAs. JD(S) functionaries admit Kumaraswamy’s attacks on the government were prompted by “overtures” from Congressmen who were threatening to unleash ‘Operation Hastha’ — a euphemism for poaching MLAs. It is said Congress is trying to get 13 — or two-thirds — of the 19 JD(S) MLAs to quit so that they can avoid disqualification under the anti-defection law and claim separate group status with the party symbol in the legislative assembly.
If 13 break away, they will also avoid the challenge of facing a bypoll. “We are aware of these moves,” said Kumaraswamy before leaving for Cambodia on Monday. “Congress is daydreaming about finishing off JD(S). We are the genuine opposition to Congress. They will never succeed in their plot as none of our MLAs will defect.” But HD Ranganath, Congress MLA from Kunigal and a relative of deputy CM DK Shivakumar, said Congress does not need to “induce” them as JD(S) MLAs “are planning to quit on their own”. “We need not unleash any operation since 13 JD(S) MLAs are in touch with us. They want to be taken into the Congress fold. Our leadership will take a take a call on this,” Ranganath said.
GT Deve Gowda himself is said to be one of the 13 mulling a move to Congress. With 136 MLAs in the assembly, Congress enjoys a comfortable majority and does not require the support of JD(S) MLAs to ensure stability of the government. But it believes it will have an easier outing in Lok Sabha elections, especially in the Old Mysuru region, if it manages to break JD(S). Moreover, it is no secret chief minister Siddaramaiah, who has a running feud with Gowda and Kumaraswamy, would like to see the end of JD(S). He is said to have engineered the defections of seven JD(S) MLAs when he was CM in 2017.
Among those who defected then were N Chaluvarayaswamy and BZ Zameer Khan, who are now ministers in his cabinet. Shivakumar too is jostling with Kumaraswamy to emerge as the go-to leader of Vokkaligas, and his camp is separately reaching out to Vokkaliga MLAs in JD(S). “Siddaramaiah wants to get rid of us, but we would not let it happen. The core committee will soon travel across the state to strengthen the party base,” said GT Deve Gowda.