Poaching fear? JD(S) won't release its candidates' list now

Bengaluru: The Janata Dal (Secular) has decided to put on hold its decision to release the first list of candidates for the coming Assembly elections ahead of its rival parties as it fears they could be poached in the run-up to the poll.

A party spokesperson said the first list of candidates had been finalised by party supremo H.D. Deve Gowda in consultation with state unit chief H.D.  Kumaraswamy and leaders of almost 60 to 70 assembly segments, but as the Assembly elections were likely to held in April-May, it  saw no reason to hurry in releasing the list before the two national parties. Also , it wanted to avoid any fence crossing as there had been reports of late that JD(S) candidates, especially in south Karnataka,  its fortress, could be poached, the spokesperson added. 

“We wanted to release the first list of candidates a day after Sankranthi, but now have decided to put it on hold by some weeks as we fear they could be wooed by the Congress and BJP,  which lack strong candidates in south Karnataka," the spokesperson told Deccan Chronicle.

He reasoned that with the ruling Congress facing anti-incumbency, and the BJP devoid of  winnable candidates in the JD(S) strongholds of Chamarajanagar, Mysuru, Mandya, Hassan and Ramanagar districts, poaching of his party's candidates was almost inevitable. 

“It has happened many times in the past and we do not want it to happen again this time. The opposition parties could go to any extent to woo the JD(S) candidates as they want to come to power by hook or crook,” he maintained. The JD(S) leader revealed that it had decided to concentrate on around 150 to160 seats, where it enjoyed support rather than on all 224 Assembly segments. “We are aware of our strengths and weaknesses and have worked out our strategies accordingly. The 224 Assembly constituencies have been categorised as A, B and C and we will concentrate on the first two,” he said.