JD(S)' choice of candidate doesn't match HD Kumarawamy's anger

BENGALURU: Over the past few days, former chief minister and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy has repeatedly said defeating the 15 disqualified MLAs who are contesting on BJP tickets in the December 5 bypolls is his first priority. He has even said he would support Congress candidates in a few constituencies to ensure the disqualified MLAs are defeated.

Three of them, incidentally, deserted his party to shift loyalty to the BJP.

The anger of the former CM is unsurprising, considering that the resignation of these legislators led to the fall of the JD(S)- Congress coalition government, headed by him. K Gopalaiah, the BJP candidate in Mahalakshmi Layout in Bengaluru, was elected on a JD(S) ticket from here in last year’s Assembly polls. The former CM had vowed to defeat him at any cost. But political observers have not been able to figure out if Kumaraswamy has matched his action with his anger. His party’s choice of candidate for the Mahalakshmi Layout seat in Bengaluru has raised eyebrows.


Little-known Girish K Nashi is the JD(S) nominee and party sources say he did not even have the party membership. Sections of the city and state JD(S) leaders this reporter spoke to expressed disappointment over the party fielding a “weak” candidate against the mighty Gopalaiah.

“There were many eligible ticket aspirants in the party who could have taken on Gopalaiah. We have no clue why they have fielded Nashi who neither hails from Mahalakshmi Layout nor lives there,” a state JD(S) leader who did not wish to be named, told ET.

Local party leaders were hoping that a prominent face in the constituency like former deputy mayor B Bhadre Gowda or RV Harish will get to contest from here. “But they have given the ticket to Nashi, who in the 2018 Assembly polls had knocked on the doors of the Congress seeking the B form,” a local corporator said.

Of the seven wards in this Assembly segment, four are with JD(S), two with the Congress and one is with the BJP. With Gopalaiah switching his allegiance to the BJP, the four JD(S) corporators too, which includes his wife Hemalatha Gopalaiah, are now backing him.

Also, the fact that Nashi is a Lingayat has surprised many. Although Mahalakshmi Layout has a mixed population comprising Lingayats and OBCs, it is predominantly a Vokkaliga constituency. “The party leaders could have fielded a Vokkaliga candidate, if at all they were serious about winning. I really wonder if the party wants Gopalaiah to win or to lose,” a JD(S) member said.

The Congress has fielded M Shivaraju, a former standing committee chairman at BBMP.