Karnataka assembly polls: JD(S) could play king maker if no party gets a clear majority
Bengaluru:
It's election season in Karnataka and many senior politicians seem to be leaving nothing to chance. Visits to temples and mutts or monasteries by BJP chief Amit Shah and Congress president have been frequent in the last couple of months. And now, it seems to be the turn of senior JD(S) leader and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda.
On Wednesday, Mr Deve Gowda, 85, took a helicopter ride to Sringeri taking along with him nomination papers, in all probability of his two sons, to seek the blessings of Shankaracharya Bharati Tirtha Swami. He returned to Bengaluru the same day.
Claiming that Mr Deve Gowda visits Sringeri at least once in one or two months, a member of his team said the last visit was made 15 days ago. Taking nomination papers to the temple has been a practice with Mr Deve Gowda in earlier elections too, his team member added.
The JD(S) that has formed coalition governments with both the Congress and the BJP in Karnataka could play the role of a king maker if no party wins a clear majority in the assembly polls due next month. Mr Deve Gowda's two sons -- former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy and HD Revanna -- are contesting the assembly elections this time.
The JD(S) is seen as a Vokkaliga-supported party with much of its strength in the southern part of the state where the Vokkaliga population is relatively high. Vokkaligas constitute an estimated 12% of the population, the next dominant political group in Karnataka after the Lingayats.
Earlier in the day, BJP's chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa visited the Huchurayaswamy temple before filing his nomination for the Shikaripura seat in Shivamogga district.
On the campaign trail, BJP president Amit Shah has visited several monasteries in the state, including the Siddaganga mutt in Tumakuru last month.
During his poll campaign, Congress president Rahul Gandhi had visited the Sringeri mutt last month and met the Shankaracharya.
That visit came nearly 40 years after his grandmother Indira Gandhi came there before contesting the Lok Sabha bypolls from Chikkamagaluru in 1978. Ms Gandhi won the byelection, reviving her political career after the Emergency.
On Wednesday, Mr Deve Gowda, 85, took a helicopter ride to Sringeri taking along with him nomination papers, in all probability of his two sons, to seek the blessings of Shankaracharya Bharati Tirtha Swami. He returned to Bengaluru the same day.
Claiming that Mr Deve Gowda visits Sringeri at least once in one or two months, a member of his team said the last visit was made 15 days ago. Taking nomination papers to the temple has been a practice with Mr Deve Gowda in earlier elections too, his team member added.
The JD(S) that has formed coalition governments with both the Congress and the BJP in Karnataka could play the role of a king maker if no party wins a clear majority in the assembly polls due next month. Mr Deve Gowda's two sons -- former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy and HD Revanna -- are contesting the assembly elections this time.
The JD(S) is seen as a Vokkaliga-supported party with much of its strength in the southern part of the state where the Vokkaliga population is relatively high. Vokkaligas constitute an estimated 12% of the population, the next dominant political group in Karnataka after the Lingayats.
BS Yeddyurappa at a temple in Shikaripura before filing his nomination
On the campaign trail, BJP president Amit Shah has visited several monasteries in the state, including the Siddaganga mutt in Tumakuru last month.
During his poll campaign, Congress president Rahul Gandhi had visited the Sringeri mutt last month and met the Shankaracharya.
That visit came nearly 40 years after his grandmother Indira Gandhi came there before contesting the Lok Sabha bypolls from Chikkamagaluru in 1978. Ms Gandhi won the byelection, reviving her political career after the Emergency.
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