After pact, rebellion: JD(S)-BJP alliance off to a rough start, dissent rears its head in Karnataka too

The recently announced alliance between the BJP and the Janata Dal (Secular) has been met with resistance from leaders in both parties in Karnataka. While at least two JD(S) leaders have resigned, several Muslim functionaries of the party have threatened to sever ties with the party. This comes close on the heels of the JD(S) Kerala unit expressing its opposition to the alliance.

A section of JD(S) leaders in Karnataka from the minority community attended a meeting in Bengaluru on Sunday chaired by party working president and former minister M N Nabi. “We have held a meeting to express our unhappiness over the alliance. We are hurt by the decision,” Nabi said, adding that the leaders would hold another meeting in the city to announce their decision.

Among those who have already resigned is Shafiullah Baig, who was the vice president of the JD(S). “Not only minority leaders, but all leaders who follow secular principles are unhappy about the decision. The BJP is not a secular party due to which many leaders are in a fix,” he told The Indian Express.

The JD(S)’s Shivamogga district president M Srikant also resigned on Saturday. MLAs Sharangouda Kandakur from Gurmitkal and Nemiraj Naik from the Hagaribommanahalli have also aired their dissatisfaction over the alliance.

Sources said efforts by JD(S) chief H D Deve Gowda to convince party leaders and workers about the decision had not had the desired effect.

Among the BJP leaders not too keen on the alliance is Tumkur MP G S Basavaraj, who has publicly opposed the possibility of Deve Gowda contesting from his seat and said he was faced with a “dilemma”.

“I won the election against Deve Gowda last time … If he is fielded from here (again), I don’t know what will be the outcome,” Basavaraj told reporters on Sunday, adding that the Hemavathy issue could hurt the alliance. The BJP defeated Deve Gowda in the last Lok Sabha election by highlighting his opposition to the supply of water from the Hemavathy reservoir to parts of Tumkur.

Basavaraj said though he was not involved in the decision and “heard about the alliance from the newspapers”, JD(S) candidates could be fielded from four or five constituencies, of which three are expected to be Hassan, Bengaluru Rural, and Kolar.

According to sources, the BJP high command is expected to iron out any differences over the alliance in the coming days. The Deve Gowda family, meanwhile, has been entrusted with soothing the nerves of unhappy party leaders.

The alliance, announced last Friday, hinges on Deve Gowda’s cordial relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Despite this, Deve Gowda was reportedly reluctant to enter an alliance that would be seen as a step away from the secular ideology he has been wedded to his entire political life.