BENGALURU: After signalling for weeks that they had repaired their personal equation and were moving towards a partnership,
BS Yediyurappa and
HD Kumaraswamy ruled out a party
alliance
or
merger
on Sunday, leaving many in
BJP and JD(S) confused. Political observers and some senior party functionaries believe the two men are only looking for some short-term gains from their
renewed friendship
and never seriously considered a tie-up.
The chief minister, who has been fighting speculation about leadership change, reportedly wants to send a message to the BJP high command that if he’s pressured to step aside, he can form independent alliances that could hurt the party. Yediyurappa quit BJP in 2012 and started the
Karnataka Janata Paksha, which cut into BJP’s votes in certain assembly contests in 2013, indirectly giving
Congress the advantage.
Under Kumaraswamy’s watch, JD(S) has suffered a series of setbacks in the past two years, the biggest being the collapse of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government. JD(S) is facing an identity crisis and a number of MLAs are looking towards the exit door. Kumaraswamy is under pressure to show some movement that suggests a revival is underway. Appearing closer to the ruling BJP could help his cause and prevent an exodus from JD(S), say political observers. A section in JD(S) even supports the idea of a pact with BJP. Last week, senior JD(S) MLC and former minister Basavaraj Horatti said the party should merge with BJP.
Political analysts believe such a merger will benefit BJP more than JD(S) by ending three-party electoral battles that produce fractured verdicts and encourage party-hopping among MLAs.
Until Sunday, a BJP-JD(S) pact appeared to be on the cards as political circles went by Yediyurappa and Kumaraswamy’s new-found bonhomie. While heading the coalition government, Kumaraswamy slated Yediyurappa on various issues. In the past few months, he has regularly offered moral support to Yediyurappa, even backing the latter’s land reforms in the legislative council, where BJP lacks numbers. Yediyurappa has reciprocated on almost every occasion. Recently, when farmers’ leader Kodihalli Chandrashekar called the former chief minister a “deal master” for endorsing the land reforms, Yediyurappa issued a statement condemning the remarks.
There’s a marked improvement in their ties after the bad blood of 2007, when JD(S) and BJP led the government. Yediyurappa and Kumaraswamy had agreed to serve equal tenures as the chief minister, but Kumaraswamy later refused to leave office.
A senior JD(S) member and close associate of Kumaraswamy said that the new friendship between the two was a matter of political convenience, but it could lead to a new alliance. “Kumaraswamy may support Yediyurappa if he and his loyalists walk out of BJP,” he said. A senior BJP functionary said that this was a highly unlikely scenario. “Yediyurappa is still the undisputed Lingayat face of the party. But given his age, it’s unlikely that 80-odd BJP MLAs will revolt and move to JD(S) with him or form a new party,” he said.
Political analyst Sandeep Shastri said that Kumaraswamy was cosying up to Yediyurappa to save JD(S). “The regional party is fast losing political space. Its leadership may be hoping that the appearance of an alliance with the ruling party will produce short-term dividends and put Congress on the defensive. But this approach could backfire,” he said.
Congress claimed that Yediyurappa and Kumaraswamy were supporting each other at the expense of their parties. “The developments in BJP clearly suggest that there could be early polls. We have nothing to crib about. The only intriguing thing is HD Deve Gowda’s silence,” said Congress working president Saleem Ahmed.