CALL OF THE SON OF THE SOIL

THE JD(S), LED BY PARTY PATRIARCH H.D. DEVE GOWDA, STRIVES TO PROTECT ITS TURF AGAINST FORMIDABLE RIVALS, THE CONGRESS AND BJP

- Ajay Sukumaran

LAST MAY, THE JANATA DAL (SECULAR) ORGANISED a grand campaign on the outskirts of Bengaluru a few days before party patriarch H.D. Deve Gowda turned 90. For the regional outfit that has been out of power since mid-2019, the rally was meant to mark the beginning of a process of recouping. Gowda exhorted partymen, “Our struggle starts again from here.” Over the past year, the nonagenarian has rarely appeared in public meetings owing to his ill health. But, on March 26, he was at Mysuru where hordes of supporters turned up to hear him speak. Gowda didn’t disappoint. As his son H.D. Kumaraswamy put it, just the ambience of a crowded gathering did more good to him than anything that the doctor had advised in all these months. Likewise for the party—even at 91, Gowda is still the crowd-puller in the southern farmlands of Karnataka where a big battle is brewing.

In this election too, as in previous ones, the JD(S) is fighting to protect its turf against formidable rivals, the Congress and BJP, in the 224-seat state assembly. It has been 24 years since the party came into being as a splinter group of the erstwhile Janata Dal. Thrice since then, it has been a part of coalition governments—first with the Congress in 2004, then with the BJP in 2006 and again with the Congress in 2018. None lasted more than 20 months. Therefore, as Karnataka goes to the polls on May 10, the JD(S) remains a key piece in the jigsaw puzzle. In the previous state election in 2018, it cornered an 18 per cent vote share, enough to place it snugly in the middle of the power game. That’s also the fear its bigger rivals have, hence their persistent message to voters to be mindful of bringing a single party to power. Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah, who have been visiting the state frequently, stress the point.