Congress, JD(S) ties come a full circle

United for a cause: JD(S) chief H.D. Deve Gowda, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy and other JD(S) and Congress MLAs staging a dharna outside the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru.

United for a cause: JD(S) chief H.D. Deve Gowda, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy and other JD(S) and Congress MLAs staging a dharna outside the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru.  

Friends-turned-rivals Siddaramaiah, Deve Gowda join hands against common foe.

The relationship between the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) has come a full circle after 14 years.

The fractured mandate and the uncertain political situation caused by last week’s elections to the 15th Legislative Assembly seems to have restored some of the old bonhomie between friends-turned-feuding leaders — Siddaramaiah and H.D. Deve Gowda.

After the Congress decided to bury the hatchet and support a government headed by Gowda junior — H.D. Kumaraswamy — the two leaders jointly staged a protest near the Mahatma Gandhi statue in the city, opposing the installation of the BJP government headed by Mr. Yeddyurappa despite being short of the required number of MLAs for a majority.

 

Mr. Siddaramaiah has had fragile equations with former JD (S) colleagues — particularly with Mr. Deve Gowda and his younger son Mr. Kumaraswamy. During the past five years, the JD(S) also has targeted his government on several issues, including the privately-developed, tolled NICE road around Bengaluru.

Personal rivalry

However, the two leaders have risen above their differences and personal rivalry on occasions when State-related issues have surfaced. The senior Mr. Gowda supported Mr. Siddaramaiah’s stand and advised him during the Cauvery water dispute.

After bitter relations in the 1990s and early 2000s, Congress and JD(S) joined hands in 2004 after a hung Assembly. The Congress, led by then Chief Minister S.M. Krishna, called for polls five months ahead of the term in 2004 and secured 65 seats while its arch rival, the JD (S), managed 58 seats. The two parties came together to keep the BJP out of power. The BJP had won 79 seats back then.

 

After firmly ruling out the Chief Minister’s post to Mr. Krishna — who was the outgoing CM and his bête noire — JD (S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda entered into consultations with the Congress high command. A coalition government headed by N. Dharam Singh was installed, leaving the deputy Chief Minister’s post to Mr. Siddaramaiah, who was then in the JD (S).

New force

Mr. Siddaramaiah was angry with Mr. Deve Gowda for denying him the Chief Minister’s post in the JDS-Congress dispensation. He walked out of the party in 2006 to join the Congress. Several leaders quit the JD (S) and supported Mr. Siddaramaiah as a new Congress force in the State.

The coalition fell in 2006 and the JD (S) formed another government with the BJP’s support. JD (S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy became the Chief Minister, while BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurappa became the Deputy CM. But the alliance broke the very next year, leading to the imposition of President’s rule.

 

Mr. Siddaramaiah has emerged as a prominent OBC (other backward castes) leader in the Congress. When the Congress won the 2013 elections, he became the Chief Minister and went on to complete a full five-year term — the second Karnataka Chief Minister to do so in the past 40 years.

Will the new found camaraderie between the two parties and the two top leaders last through to the general elections next year? The coming months should tell.