HD Kumaraswamy’s preliminary refusal to increase even ethical assist to the padayatra signaled a possible fracture within the BJP-JDS alliance. (PTI/File)
The BJP’s plan to launch a joint protest in opposition to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has uncovered its rifts with ally JDS, which says it was not consulted in planning the march. The main bone of rivalry between the allies is Preetham Gowda, former MLA from Hassan and rival of the Gowda clan
In Karnataka, the BJP and JD-S current a paradox — united throughout elections, however divided on key points. Regardless of an elaborate plan to carry a week-long padayatra from Bengaluru to Mysuru to protest alleged scams in Congress governance, the coalition companions initially did not align on the corruption costs in opposition to the Congress. Nonetheless, a fast U-turn appears to have put the padayatra again on monitor.
The BJP and JD-S unitedly fought in opposition to the Congress in Karnataka within the 2023 Meeting polls and 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Nonetheless, the BJP’s plan to launch a joint protest in opposition to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, whom the Opposition has accused of unlawful land allocation and misappropriation of funds meant for Scheduled Tribes, uncovered rifts between the allies. The JD-S claimed it was not consulted within the planning the march.
The main bone of rivalry between the BJP and the JD-S is Preetham Gowda, a former MLA from Hassan. Within the 2018 Meeting polls, Preetham breached the JD-S fortress by defeating HS Swaroop. The JD-S and the Deve Gowda household have been seething with anger for the reason that ‘pen drive’ controversy broke, resulting in former Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna’s arrest for allegedly raping a number of ladies.
The JD-S alleged {that a} BJP chief had a hand within the “horrific intercourse tapes” going public throughout Hassan simply days earlier than the primary section of the 2023 Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka. This not solely induced a lot embarrassment to the JD-S, but additionally left the previous PM’s household totally humiliated in political circles.
Preetham Gowda, elected to the Legislative Meeting from Hassan in 2018, has been a controversial determine, recognized for his contentious relationship with the JD-S management, significantly HD Revanna and his son Prajwal Revanna.
Preetham Gowda’s political profession has been marked by his vocal opposition to the JD-S, and the regional social gathering even claimed that he campaigned in opposition to the NDA candidate as a substitute of supporting them because the alliance demanded. Preetham was defeated within the 2023 elections, shedding to Swaroop Prakash of the JD-S regardless of securing 45% of the votes.
A number of controversies encompass Preetham Gowda, together with alleged threats in opposition to the Muslim neighborhood and absenteeism from essential conferences of the BJP-JDS alliance, which additional exacerbated rigidity. Gowda being assigned the Mysuru constituency by BJP nationwide normal secretary Radha Mohan Das Agarwal additional fueled anger inside the JDS.
Union Minister and JD-S chief HD Kumaraswamy was visibly angered when requested concerning the JD-S giving “ethical assist” to the BJP’s Bengaluru-Mysuru padayatra,/em> being led by Preetham Gowda.
“Who’s that Preetham Gowda?” Kumaraswamy fumed. “Preetham Gowda, the person who is about to complete off the Deve Gowda household? They [BJP] talk about preparations for this padayatra with him and need me to take a seat subsequent to him? The identical one that has tried to poison my household? The one accountable for the distribution of pen drives? There’s a restrict to my persistence,” mentioned a livid Kumaraswamy, bringing to the fore the non-public and political animosities.
Initially, the JD-S opposed the BJP’s padayatra technique, deeming it “not the proper time”, however the actual rivalry lay in Preetham Gowda’s involvement in planning the march. Kumaraswamy additionally criticised the BJP for not consulting his social gathering earlier than planning the march.
The withdrawal of the JDS from the padayatra raised important questions on the way forward for the BJP-JDS alliance. Karnataka BJP chief BY Vijayendra rushed to Delhi to hunt a decision, fearing the BJP was shedding a chance to assault the Congress and discredit Siddaramaiah as Chief Minister.
Kumaraswamy’s preliminary refusal to increase even ethical assist to the padayatra signaled a possible fracture within the alliance. Nonetheless, an prolonged assembly involving BJP nationwide normal secretary Radha Mohan Das Agarwal, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, and state unit president BY Vijayendra satisfied Kumaraswamy to take part. He finally agreed to inaugurate the eight-day march on August 3.
With the ruling Congress and the BJP-JDS opposition countering one another’s padayatras, political one-upmanship appears a to have taken the entrance seat.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar dismissed the BJP’s padayatra over the Mysuru City Improvement Authority and Valmiki points as an try and stir controversy over non-issues. The Congress, by beginning its yatra a day sooner than the BJP-JDS, goals to persuade the general public that the Opposition’s allegations are baseless and meant solely to tarnish its picture.
