Karnataka: One in Lok Sabha-Assembly, different in bodies, what kind of alliance is this between BJP and JD(S)?

The alliance between Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal (Secular) in Karnataka is only for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. Both the parties will field their candidates separately in the local elections. This will not be a ‘friendly fight’, it will be exactly the same fight that opposing parties contest against each other in elections. First in Maharashtra and now in Karnataka, both the allies of the NDA alliance have made preparations to contest the civic elections on the same principle.

The top leadership of Janata Dal (Secular) has clearly said that at the local level, there is no electoral alliance between BJP and JD(S) for the civic elections. Candidates of both the parties will contest separately in the civic elections. The alliance is only for the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. Such alliances are not surprising in Indian politics. Such political experiments have often been used to solve local equations.

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HD Deve Gowda, JD(S) Chief:-
The alliance with BJP will continue for the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. But the alliance will be difficult for urban local bodies including district panchayats, taluk panchayats and other local bodies.

Why couldn’t things work out in the civic elections?

Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda himself said on Friday that the BJP and JD(S) alliance in Karnataka is limited only to the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections and not to the local body elections. JD(S) will contest local body elections independently to strengthen its grassroots base.

HD Deve Gowda also said that the Bharatiya Janata Party and JD(S) alliance has done good work at the national and state levels, but the local body elections need a different approach focused on party organization and independent strength.

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Will there be sour relations between BJP and JD(S)?

NDA alliance parties have fought against each other before in civic elections. Political parties have been doing this to strengthen their cadre at the local level. Cadre and bodies are prepared only during elections. HD Deve Gowda has said that relations between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah as well as BJP and JD(S) remain cordial.

Why do allies fight among themselves in civic elections?

Political experts say that workers keep any political party alive at the grassroots level. Coalition partners get entangled in civic elections because these elections are at the local level. Here decisions are taken considering the equations of parties’ ground hold, workers’ ambitions and personal rivalry.

Unlike state or national elections, here the alliance does not remain united. Local equations dominate more than assembly or Lok Sabha elections. Many times, disagreements over seat distribution, resentment of local workers, ‘friendly fight’ and desire to maintain local influence create discord within the party. To avoid this, political parties take such steps.

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After Maharashtra, now NDA parties will fight among themselves in Karnataka also

Mahayuti has three allies in Maharashtra, BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP. The parties in the opposition alliance, Maha Vikas Aghadi, include Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (Sharad Pawar). At many places, allies of Mahayuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi fielded candidates against each other. Political parties take such decisions to strengthen their organization. The alliance of BJP and JD(S) will continue in Karnataka but both the parties will fight the civic elections separately.