Having failed to make its marriage with the Congress tick, the JD(S) is now exploring the possibility of flirting with a new partner. A section of the party wants the leadership to support the BJP, even if it means outside support. BS Yediyurappa was sworn as the chief minister of Karnataka on Friday evening in Bengaluru.

“Some MLAs are for supporting this government. Everyone has given HD Kumaraswamy the right to take the appropriate decision,” GT Deve Gowda, former minister, was quoted by Deccan Herald as saying after a meeting of the JD(S).

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This is an important move as it would provide the much-needed buffer for the BJP in terms of numbers in the Karnataka Vidhana Soudha. 

Two, this would formally end the political relationship – dubbed opportunistic by the BJP – between the JD(S) and the Congress. 

Three, this would help the Congress regain its lost ground in the Old Mysuru region. Many in the Congress were resentful of the fact that they had to compromise on their bastion just to accommodate JD(S) as an alliance partner. The sentiment was shared by JD(S) leaders in the region as well who felt that the Congress did not help them adequately during the Lok Sabha elections. The defeat of Nikhil Kumaraswamy in Mandya where Congress leaders openly helped Independent candidate Sumalatha, is cited as a case in point. 

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But would it help the JD(S)? Yes and No. If Kumaraswamy resists the opinion of the few, it is quite possible that the BJP would try to split the JD(S) legislature party. But if he agrees to support the BJP, it will show the Deve Gowda clan as one hankering after power at any cost, with no regard to ideology.