Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Nov 27: A proposal to strike electoral understanding for the upcoming election to legislative council seats has given rise to voices that are both for and against this idea. As leaders of both Congress and JDS are busy calculating their political gains out of this understanding, a clear picture is yet to emerge.

JDS supremo, Deve Gowda, is in favour of extending the understanding the two parties had struck during the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike formation. A faction of Congress insists that the friendship will only help JDS to survive, and that their own party will not stand to gain anything out of it. State JDS president, H D Kumaraswamy, has taken the stand that the alliance between his party and the Congress will blunt the party's crusade against the state government.

JDS plans to retain five of the seats it held in the last election, viz, Hassan, Mysuru, Mandya, teachers constituency (west), and Tumakuru, where JDS wields considerable clout. JDS leadership feels that with an understanding, the party can bag these seats without having to fight it out and spend money for the election.

But many Congress leaders feel that the understanding, if struck, will benefit JDS as it does not have a firm footing in the 20 other constituencies which will go to polls. The five seats on which JDS is exercising its claim do not have formidable presence of BJP. Therefore, these leaders feel that by putting some effort, three of the five seats can be bagged by the Congress. They however, agree that because BJP and Congress will be prominent contenders in the other 20 seats, friendship with JDS might marginally help their party there. Moreover, l the constituencies which JDS want to represent are political battlefields of prominent Congress leaders like D K Shivakumar, A Manju G Parameshwar, Vinay Kulkarni, and chief minister, Siddaramaiah. Therefore, it is analyzed that the electoral understanding may prove to be disadvantageous for the Congress.

Many in Congress feel that their party provided impetus to JDS to strengthen its foothold by striking an understanding to share power in BBMP. They feel that JDS will get further strengthened if an understanding is reached with that party for council and local bodies elections. Notably, even Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president, G Parameshwar, has expressed himself against such an understanding with JDS. But reportedly, the chief minister is in favour of giving the above five seats to JDS and seeking its support in other 20 seats.