Cross-Voting Shock Exposes Deep Cracks In BJP-JD(S) Alliance, Hands Congress Strategic Edge

Bengaluru: In the wake of major cross voting during biennial elections to the Upper House of Karnataka from the Legislative Assembly, where the lone JD(S) candidate faced a humiliating defeat, the opposition coalition BJP and JD(S) leadership are trying to shift the responsibility, brushing their failures under the carpet.

While the BJP state unit has constituted a fact finding committee to find out those cross voted in favour of Congress, the JD(S) leader and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy has categorically said that his `central politics is temporary'.

However, miffed by the lack of leadership in the State, the BJP high command has summoned BJP State President B Y Vijayendra, Opposition leader R Ashok and BJP Karnataka in-charge Radha Mohandas Agarwal for a meeting on June 29. Even Radha Mohandas, who was in Bengaluru during the election has blamed the state leadership for lack of discipline in the State party unit.

Among the two BJP candidates fielded, Raghu Koutilya was backed by the former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, whose son B Y Vijayendra is the state unit president now. The other candidate Lingaraj Patil was a Sangh Parivar candidate. When the BJP decided to allocate 30 votes each for their official candidates, Vijayendra ensured that his confident MLAs were allocated to him. Another 30, including expelled MLA Basannagouda Patil Yatnal, was allocated to Lingaraju Patil. Despite this, one from Koutilya and three from Patil became victims of the cross voting.

The BJP had allocated four excess votes to JD(S), which had 18 votes in hand. The JD(S) candidate polled only 14 votes and the only cross voting everyone knew was from JD(S) senior member G T Deve Gowda. Though it is confirmed that three more cross voting has taken place from JD(S), no one knows the exact number of cross voting from both the parties. The entire operation was so meticulously carried out by Congress to make the opposition BJP and JD(S) believe that they were relying on preferential votes for victory of their fifth candidate.

The result has exposed the fact that the BJP President Vijayendra is not his father Yeddyurappa. The party already has three to four factions and no one has control over party affairs. Even Radha Mohan Agarwal is a dummy from the party high command, who lacks interest in party affairs. Both RSS and Bajarang Dal cadre, which are the backbone of BJP election campaigning, are totally disillusioned with the party leadership.

As far as JD(S) is concerned, it is in disarray and is sliding further under H D Kumaraswamy leadership. It is BJP's misconception that the party would benefit in the Vokkaliga belt of Old-Mysuru region. The Vokkaligas are slowly losing faith in JD(S), as Kumaraswamy and his son NIkhil Kumaraswamy are the only two leaders in the party.

As far as coalition functioning is concerned, there is no coordination. Both Kumaraswamy and Vijayendra have their own calculations for the next Assembly elections, which is due in 2028, while the Congress has started aggressively building parties at the grassroot level.