JD(S) to Contest Karnataka Local Body Elections Alone, Says HD Deve Gowda
JD(S) to contest local body elections independently.
Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) patriarch HD Deve Gowda made a significant declaration on Friday, affirming that his party will independently field candidates in the forthcoming local body elections across Karnataka, marking a clear distinction from the ongoing alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party that continues to hold for national and state-level legislative contests.
Gowda, addressing reporters as a sitting Rajya Sabha member, explicitly stated that the JD(S)-BJP partnership, formalized in 2023 within the framework of the National Democratic Alliance, remains committed to joint efforts in Lok Sabha, Assembly, and Legislative Council elections, while unequivocally reserving the party's right to contest panchayat and urban local body polls on its own symbol and strength.
This pronouncement emerges against a backdrop of persistent speculation regarding potential fissures in the alliance, which had demonstrably yielded positive outcomes for the NDA during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka, where strategic mutual support enabled the coalition to secure notable victories, including substantial gains for the BJP in approximately eight constituencies bolstered by JD(S) influence.
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In a display of measured diplomacy, Gowda chose not to contest or critique recent assertions made by Karnataka BJP president BY Vijayendra concerning the alliance dynamics, thereby avoiding any public escalation of differences and instead focusing on reinforcing JD(S)'s independent operational freedom at the grassroots level.
Political analysts perceive this strategic positioning as a calculated move by the veteran leader to safeguard and consolidate the party's core regional identity and traditional support base among the Vokkaliga community in the Old Mysuru region, while simultaneously invigorating party workers and testing organizational resilience ahead of the imminent local body elections expected in the near future.
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