Ahead of By-Poll, 13 JDS Councillors Defect to Congress in Channapatna
BENGALURU: Citing lack of leadership in Janata Dal Secular (JDS), as many as 13 councillors elected on Janata Dal Secular (JDS) defected to Congress party along with a lone independent councilor in 31-member Channapatna City Municipal Council (CMC) of Ramnagar district. President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar belongs to Ramanagar district.
The development in Channapatna has happened when a by-poll is round the corner for the Assembly seat following the resignation of former Chief Minister and JDS State president H.D. Kumaraswamy who represented the seat from May 2023. However, the date for conducting Channapatna by-poll is yet to be announced by the Election Commission.
The Channapatna CMC has 16-member strength belonging to JDS. The Congress has seven members, two councilors out of seven members elected from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have also joined Congress party and a lone independent councilor Uma.
The reason for exodus of Channapatna JDS councilors is said to be over lack of leadership in the JDS unit after H.D. Kumaraswamy’s exit from Channapatna Assembly seat to retain his Lok Sabha member of Mandya. Kumaraswamy won the Channapatna Assembly seat in Ramnagar district in 2023 and contested the Mandya Lok Sabha seat in 2024 election and won it. He gave up MLA post to make way for a by-poll in Channapatna. Currently, Kumaraswamy is the Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Steel.
A prominent JDS of Channapatna told Deccan Chronicle on Friday “JDS leaders and workers have lost communication with Kumaraswamy since two-months and owing to lack of leadership in Channapatna, JDS is in search of a leader and leaders are joining Congress party which is power in the State.”
The developments in Channapatna is well known to the JDS leaders but no efforts have been made by the State leaders to convince leaders/workers in Channapatna to stay in the party, said the JDS leader while another JDS leader said after Kumaraswamy left Channapatna, there is displeasure in leaders and workers.
Apart from lack of leadership in JDS Channapatna, a councilor said, councilors believe Congress party is in power and they could get attention for their wards from the State Government to take up development works by aligning with Congress party and quitting JDS.
Three JDS councilors-Satish, Manju and Mahadev are said to be undecided over joining the Congress party despite getting repeated invitations. A source in Channapatna said Satish, representing ward number 3 in CMC, is gathering opinions of his supporters to decide on joining the Congress party.
Congress leader and former Lok Sabha member D.K. Suresh said the defection of JDS councillors was decided some time back but an official announcement has been made now. A JDS leader of Channapatna Jayamuthu did not respond to repeated calls.
