Congress-JD(S) alliance faces a litmus test

On Saturday, at an election rally for Congress candidate Veerappa Moily in the Chikkabellapur constituency in Karnataka, all the participants were holding the tricolour flags of the party. But what was conspicuous was the absence of the green flags of the Congress's newest ally and ruling partner in Karnataka, the Janata Dal (S).
However, later in the evening in Tumkur, where JD (S) chief Deve Gowda is in the fray, flags of both the parties were seen, with some prominence to the green flag.
For those who look at simple mathematics, the parliament election results may seem to be in favour of the ruling alliance of the Congress and the JD (S). However, politics is something more than simple arithmetic and that's where the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party rests its hopes on.
During the assembly elections last year, in most of the constituencies where the BJP had won, total votes polled in favour of the JD (S) and the Congress were far higher than the majority won by the BJP candidates. Anybody who goes according to that math would easily say that the BJP's victory chances in all the 28 constituencies of the state would be hard.
But the BJP has some different calculations in its mind and on the field. "In the state, we are looking for victory in at least 24 seats. In reality, the JD (S)-Congress alliance would turn in our favour. The people of Karnataka are watching what the state government is doing and what the central government has been doing. More than that, the alliance is made at the top-level in Bengaluru only. At the grassroots level, workers of these two parties had been fighting each other all these years. And they will be fighting each other in the coming local body elections. So, workers of both the parties are reluctant to work for the others," said Ganesh Yaji, BJP state office secretary.
However, both the Congress and the JD (S) want the alliance to work out properly, not just to defeat the BJP. But because of the fact that if it doesn't give fruits to both the parties in this election, that would be the end of the alliance's rule in the state.
Though some Congress leaders admit that there are differences between the allies, they claim those are being sorted out. Reetan, a Youth Congress leader, said: "It's true that we have differences between each other in some constituencies. But the leaders are resolving the issues. We don't need many days to do that. It will happen in a single day."
R. Ramakrishna, Congress district president in Tumkur, agreed. "Our top leaders are resolving the differences. That will send a message to the supporters of both the parties. If you see in Mandya, where both the parties had some serious issues, all the major Congress leaders started reaching the constituency to campaign for JD (S) candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy. This is a message that will unify both the parties."
Whatever the leaders claim, except in urban areas, there is no unity seen among the rank and file of the allies. Even Rahul Gandhi's visit to the state on Saturday didn't make an impact. Though the leaders of both the parties were present at the election rally in Kolar, the spirit of unity is yet to trickle down to the workers.
For the BJP, the work is going smoothly at the grassroot level. "We have workers who approach every house - whether they belong to our opponents or supporters - and explain things to them. This is not an election for the assembly or local bodies. The opposition doesn't have even a prime ministerial candidate to put forward. Everybody in the 'maha ghatbandhan' wants to be the prime minister while we have Narendra Modi, who has already proved his mettle. This will help us win all the three seats in Bengaluru City," said Sivaji, office secretary at the BJP's Bengaluru City office in Malleswaram.
The JD (S) sees the situation as a life and death game. "Even if the Congress workers keep away from casting their votes for our candidates, we won't be reciprocating it. Our leaders have sent the message to all the units. Because if something like that happens, it will be the end of our alliance and thus the state government," a party leader in Bengaluru told Khaleej Times on condition of anonymity.
Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy recently came out in public against the Congress leaders in Mandya, saying despite the alliance, they were campaigning against his son Nikhil Kumaraswamy. However, according to some other party leaders, this will not be affecting the alliance in the entire state.
One thing is clear. There is a lack of trust between the allies on the ground. But both the parties want to save the state's rule from going into the hands of the BJP. Hence, more than a parliament election, this poll would be a litmus test for the HD Kumaraswamy government and the alliance.
Of course, it's critical. The question in front of the leaders is how much of it would they be able to convey to the party workers.
anuwarrier@khaleejtimes.com