The Janata Dal (Secular) party has been dealt a significant blow in the 2023 Karnataka election after losing its stronghold seat in Ramnagaram to the Congress. As the grand old party marches toward a majority, poll analysts have predicted that the JD(S)' dream of playing kingmaker might not come true.
Latest data from the Election Commission show the JD(S) securing a victory in a mere 18 seats and leading in two. On the other hand, the Congress has emerged as the single largest part, having secured 119 seats and leading in 17 others.
The JD(S) has fielded a total of 209 candidates of which 196 are men and 13 are men. In the 2018 election, the state-recognised party won 37 seats with a vote share of 6,726,667 votes or 18.36 percent.
This year, the son of former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and MLA Anitha Kumaraswamy, Nikhil Kumaraswamy, was unable to secure his family's legacy in Ramanagaram and lost to Congress' HA Iqbal Hussain.
However, it's not all grim as party leader HD Kumaraswamy has maintained a lead in his own constituency Channapatna. Closely trailing behind him is CP Yogeshwara, the BJP candidate who has also garnered substantial support in the early trends.
In addition, HD Revanna, Kumaraswamy's brother, made a successful bid from Holenarasipura, leading the JD(S) party to victory with a 3,152-vote margin.
Ayanur Manjunath, who recently resigned from the BJP, was contesting from the Shivamoga central constituency but trailed behind the Congress and victorious BJP by a significant margin.
Similarly, Raghu Achar and Dr Devraj Patil, who joined the JD(S) after leaving the Congress party, were both defeated by the two national parties in Chitradurga and Bagalkot.
The JD(S) has established itself as a formidable state-recognised party in Karnataka under the leadership of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and his son, the former Chief Minister of Karnataka, HD Kumaraswamy.
The 2018 Karnataka election had resulted in a hung assembly, with no party securing a clear majority. The BJP emerged as the single-largest party with 104 MLAs out of 224 seats. However, Congress and JD(S) formed a post-poll alliance, combining their strength of 116 MLAs, surpassing the BJP's numbers.
The Congress-JD(S) alliance formed the Karnataka government, and HD Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) assumed the position of chief minister. The alliance faced a tumultuous period as 17 MLAs, after being secluded in a Mumbai resort, resigned from the Assembly and switched their allegiance to the BJP.
This political maneuvering led to the BJP regaining power in the state. BS Yediyurappa became the chief minister, only to resign on July 26, 2021, paving the way for fellow Lingayat leader Basavaraj Bommai.
First Published: May 13, 2023 2:46 PM IST
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