Party workers wonder why Uttara Kannada was given for JD(S)
Sirsi: Uttara Kannada constituency falling in the courtyard of the Janata Dal (Secular) as per the seat-sharing arrangement of the Congress and the JD(S) for the Lok Sabha elections in the State has left the JD(S) workers of the district wondering.
The activities of the party, which was in hibernation in Uttara Kannada district after the Assembly polls, have gained momentum and leaders have begun lobbying to take a lead in the party.
Currently, there are five BJP MLAs and three Congress MLAs in the eight Assembly constituencies coming under the Uttara Kannada Lok Sabha constituency. The fight in almost all the constituencies was between BJP and the Congress and JD(S) candidates secured either third or fourth positions. Also, almost all the taluk panchayats and urban local bodies are either with the BJP or the Congress and JD(S) is hardly anywhere in the picture. Congress leaving Uttara Kannada seat for the JD(S) in such conditions has made leaders of both the parties curious.
“JD(S), which faced embarrassment in the district in the Assembly polls, had become inactive post polls. The party even does not have a proper office in the district, leave aside the taluk offices. How did the JD(S) manage to get Uttara Kannada in the
Congress-JD(S) seat-sharing arrangement in such a situation? The polls are just one-and-half months away and is it possible to organise the party to ensure the victory of the candidate in such less time? A stronger candidate should have been fielded to face a five-time BJP MP,” said a senior leader of the JD(S) while expressing dissatisfaction over the decision.
‘No ground work done’
Another JD(S) leader said that contesting Lok Sabha elections was not that easy. If JD(S) wanted to field its candidate in Uttara Kannada district, it had to make prior preparations. It had to organise the party in the district at the grass-root level and enthuse the party workers at least six months in advance. Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, who had visited the district during the run-up for the Assembly polls, had assured to lodge in the district for a week and address its problems if he became the CM. But he had not visited the district even after ten months of assuming power. The district was facing many major problems like the forest dwellers issue and others and the JD(S) could morally seek votes if at least some of the issues were addressed.
The leader said that Ananthkumar Hegde has been verbally taking over leaders of all the parties in all his election-related public meetings and lamentably, none were responding strongly to the allegations. Hegde was being ‘nurtured’ by the Opposition parties and not BJP. Now, JD(S) candidate who will be contesting against the seasoned politician will have a tough time as no ground preparation has been done.