‘No difference in party’: HD Kumaraswamy backs BJP-JD(S) alliance amid reports of dissent

Karnataka's former chief minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy on Sunday informed that all members of JD(S) have unanimously voted to continue the alliance with Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) for the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. 

HD Kumaraswamy said, "In today's meeting our senior party leaders unanimously have given an endorsement to continue the alliance between BJP and JD(S)...There is no difference in our party...All MLAs were present here..."

The statement comes amid reports of growing dissent among JD(S) party workers over the party joining BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to fight for the 2024 Lok Sabha Polls. 

On Saturday, JD(S) state president C M Ibrahim said he would take a decision on further course of action after meeting like-minded people on October 16.

He said leaders including NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar have spoken to him.

Further, Karnataka vice President of JD(S) Syed Shafiulla Saheb had tendered his resignation and quit the party. Highlighting the difference between the ideologies of the JD(S) and BJP, he said, "I have resigned from the JDS party following its decision to form an alliance with the BJP .The ideology of the JD(S) and BJP, which is based on Hindutva, are different".

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Other leaders including M Srikanth and UT Ayesha Farzana resigned from the party and reportedly there is discontent among several Muslim functionaries in the party. 

Last week JD(S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda binned allegations of unhappy workers quitting the party after the BJP tie up and accused Congress, which is the ruling party in Karnataka, of spreading false propaganda.

Deve Gowda had also said that a decision to ally with the Bharatiya Janata Party for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections was taken after consultation with his party colleagues.

“Before joining BJP, I took the views of our 19 MLAs and 8 MLCs who said that JD(S) should consider entering into an understanding with BJP,” Deve Gowda said.

The JD(S) had aligned with the Congress in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, however, the parties faced a drubbing as the BJP swept 25 out of the 28 seats in Karnataka and even an independent candidate supported by the BJP won from the Mandya constituency.

The JD(S) has allied with both the BJP and the Congress in Karnataka. Though the JD(S) won 19 seats in the recent Karnataka Assembly polls that were held in May, it was the party’s worst performance in history.

Notably, the party was not invited either to the NDA meeting in Delhi or to the meeting of the Opposition- INDIA bloc in Bengaluru in July.