JD(S) leadership under fire after drawing a blank in bypolls

Bengaluru: Days after JD(S) drew a blank in the assembly bypolls in Karnataka, its leadership came under fire from within on Wednesday,with senior leader G T Devegowda targeting former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, asking him to introspect and cautioning him of losing his popularity.

The former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda-led party that had won three of the 15 seats that went for the bypolls in the previous elections–K R Pete, Mahalakshmi Layout and Hunsur– drew a blank this time around.

The ruling BJP on Monday swept the assembly bypolls, held on December 5, winning 12 of the 15 seats, while Congress won just two.

An Independent candidate Sharath Bachegowda, who was earlier expelled from the BJP for anti-party activities after he contested the bypoll as a rebel, emerged triumphant.

“I had said earlier also… Kumaraswamy had been Chief Minister twice. He was a Lok Sabha member. He should be cautious while speaking, speaking too much is not good…..,” Devegowda said.

“….. even now I would like to tell him- by speaking and tweeting certain things, don’t make public opinion turn against you.”

The senior JD(S) leader said that in recent days even Kumaraswamy’s ‘fans’ feel hurt by his utterances.

“…..he has to change… no one has fans who are crazy about their idol as Kumaraswamy has. If they are turning into your opponents, it’s time for introspection.

Think about where things have gone wrong. During defeat one has to introspect and plan for the future,” he added.

Interestingly, G T Devegowda, who has been upset with party leaders for some time now, had remained neutral during the bypolls, despite all parties approaching him for support.

A prominent Vokkaliga leader from the region, he has the credit of defeating the then Chief Minister Siddaramaiah from Chamundeshwari constituency in the 2018 assembly polls.

Asked whether Devegowda was behind the party’s defeat in Hunsur, JD(S) state President H K Kumaraswamy on Tuesday had said “Devegowda left our party mentally quite some time ago.”

A meeting of party MLAs is likely to be convened soon to discuss the bypolls results.

Losing K R Pete, considered the party’s bastion to the BJP has hurt JD(S) the most.

Creating history, BJP won the K R Pete seat in Mandya district- the Vokkaliga stronghold dominated by JD(S) and Congress for decades, for the first time in this bypolls.