Unable to find candidate, JD(S) returns Bangalore North seat to ally Congress

The JD-S has returned the Bangalore North seat to ally Congress after the party failed to find any ‘suitable candidate’ to contest from the constituency. The Congress grabbed the offer with both hands and thanked its southern ally for the kind gesture. "Congress is thankful to Shri H D Deve Gowda ji and the JD(S) for their kind gesture of giving back the Bengaluru North Lok Sabha seat to the Congress. Together, let us reclaim democracy," AICC General Secretary and Karnataka in-charge KC Venugopal tweeted.

The Congress and the JD(S) are fighting the coming Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka in an "alliance of compulsion". According to their seat-sharing pact, the Congress will contest on 20 seats while the JD(S) will field its candidates on 8 seats. Karnataka sends 28 members to the Lok Sabha.

After initially demanding 12 seats, it was easy for the JD(S) to convince the Congress for eight seats. However, the easier it was to negotiate, the harder it is for the regional party to find winning candidates on at least five of the eight seats it has got as per the seat-sharing pact reached between the parties.

The JD(S) has its considerable presence in just six districts of the Old Mysore region. With no suitable candidates and presence of organisational structure in at least five of the eight seats, the Gowdas have now reportedly asked the Congress to “loan” candidates who can fight on JD(S) symbol.

Amid the crisis, Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has accused the Congress leaders of backstabbing by creating hurdles for JD(S) candidates. Even though Kumaraswamy didn't take any names, he said, "Few people in Congress tried to create speed breakers for my candidates. I won't let JDS workers do the same. The country is important to me. No matter how much they backstab my candidates, JDS workers and I won't do the same."

With the accusations from the JD(S) leader, the rift between the erratic allies in Karnataka is once again out in the open. Both parties had also formed a post-poll alliance to form the government in Karnataka after fighting the state Assembly elections against each other. However, their alliance has always been patchy and reports of fissures kept coming from time to time.