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HomePoliticsCongress poaching of JD(S) MLAs yields no benefit, puts allies in a...

Congress poaching of JD(S) MLAs yields no benefit, puts allies in a spot

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Of 7 MLAs it managed to woo, only three won but with hung assembly, trio may have to be placated with plum posts in case of govt formation.

Bengaluru: The Congress’s poaching of seven JD(S) MLAs before the Karnataka elections has not only paid no electoral dividend — only three of the rebel legislators managed to secure victories — but it has also put both parties in a spot now that they are looking to form the government.

With the post-poll Congress-JD(S) alliance and the BJP clamouring to make up the numbers, the Congress may have to placate the three victorious rebels with plum posts, which in turn would be a major embarrassment for the JD(S) that had run a vigorous and vitriolic campaign against them.

Six of the rebel candidates had resigned from the Karnataka legislative assembly a day before they cross-voted for the Congress during the Rajya Sabha elections. The other joined the Congress later.

So far, the JD(S) has been maintaining that it is up to the Congress to deal with the rebels. Sources in the party told ThePrint that it is the Congress’ responsibility to rein them in. “We will not overtly or covertly seek their removal. Let the Congress decide what it wants to do with them. It’s their cross to bear,” said a senior JD(S) leader.

During campaigning, however, the JD(S) had made it a matter of “prestige” in defeating the rebel MLAs. It ran a concerted campaign against them, which appears to have paid off. Of the four rebels who lost, three were drubbed by JD(S) candidates: H.C. Balakrishna lost to A. Manjunath by over 50,000 votes at Magadi while in Nagamangala, N. Chaluvarayaswamy lost to Suresh Gowdaa by 47,667 votes. A.B. Ramesha Bandisiddegowda lost to Ravindra Srikantaiah at Shrirangapattana by 43,688 votes.

The other rebel, Iqbal Ansari, lost to a BJP candidate in Gangavati.

Only Zameer Ahmed (Chamarajpet), Akhanda Srinivasamurthy (Pulakeshinagar) and Bheema Naik (Hagaribommanahalli) retained their seats for the Congress.

“The people have given those who challenged us a fitting reply. They have been winning on the party’s power but their egos grew bigger than the party. They have now been shown their place,” said JD(S) spokesperson Tanveer Ahmed.

The victory of Zameer Ahmed could, however, be a sticking point as his defection had led to a fractious war of words between him and JD(S) supremo Deve Gowda. During his campaign meetings, the former prime minister vowed to defeat Ahmed at any cost. Ahmed, on his part, retorted that if he lost, he would “chop off” his “head and place it in front of Deve Gowda”.

Ahmed has remained undefeated from Chamarajpet since 2005, where he fought his first bye-election on a JD(S) ticket. On the day of the results, he told the media that he was now an “obedient Congressman” and would abide by what the party high command says.

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