Coalition partners Janata Dal (Secular) and Congress are pitted against each other in the elections to the Legislative Council from various graduates’ and teachers’ constituencies in the State.
While members of both parties voted together in favour of the motion of confidence moved by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy last week, Congress and JD(S) candidates are not only pitted against each other in the Legislative Assembly election from Rajarajeshwari Nagar constituency in Bengaluru, but are also vying for victory in the elections to the Legislative Council that are scheduled for June 8.
From South Teachers’ constituency, incumbent MLC Marithibbe Gowda of the JD(S) is up against M. Lakshmana of the Congress and B. Niranjana Murthy of the BJP. In South West Teachers’ constituency, S.L. Bhoje Gowda of the JD(S) will face K.K. Manjunath Kumar of the Congress and incumbent MLC Capt. Ganesh Karnik. Similarly, in South West Graduates’ constituency, Aruna Kumar of the JD(S) will battle it out with the Congress’ S.P. Dinesh and the BJP’s Ayanur Manjunath.
While the JD(S) leadership has made it clear that the alliance with the Congress is restricted to the Legislative Assembly, Mr. Lakshmana has said that he was given ‘B-form’ by Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president G. Parameshwara, who was subsequently appointed Deputy Chief Minister, and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah with an instruction to win the election. “There is no understanding whatsoever with the JD(S). The alliance between the two parties is restricted to the Vidhana Soudha and does not extend to any other election,” he said.
Mr. Lakshmana also cautioned the voters of South Teachers’ constituency against falling prey to rumours that the two parties had joined hands for the Council polls.
The failure of the ‘secular’ Congress-JD(S) combine to put up common candidates in the elections days after forming a government through a post-poll understanding is expected to cast a shadow on the possibility of the two parties having a pre-poll understanding for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, for which a broad anti-BJP forum is taking shape.
