BJP leader alleges secret tie-up between Cong and JDS, SP

Speaking after inaugurating his personal election website on Monday, Yeddyurappa, who was chief minister for just 10 days before the Janata Dal (Secular) withdrew support pushing the state to early elections, said discontent is brewing in the Congress on account of the secret poll pact with the JD(S).

He said the Congress and JD(S) had distributed seats on the basis of such understanding, resulting in senior Congress leaders like S M Krishna, Jaffer Sharief and Siddharamaiah expressing worries.

Yeddyurappa himself is pitted against veteran leader S Bangarappa, currently with the Samajawadi Party, who has never lost an election, for the Shikharipur constituency held by Yeddyurappa. Bangarappa had been engaged in talks for seat-sharing with the Congress that has officially been shelved.

BJP circles have been reporting a tacit understanding between the Congress and the JD(S) ever since Congress leader Kapil Sibal stated two weeks ago during a press conference that his party is not averse to a coalition with the JD(S) in the event of a hung Assembly.

The fielding of former Chief Minister Ramakrishna Hedge’s daughter Mamatha Hegde Nichani, a complete novice, from the constituency of former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, has also been viewed in some circles as sign of an understanding.

Meanwhile, former chief minister S M Krishna and AICC general secretary B K Hari Prasad dismissed allegations of tacit understandings with other parties. Krishna, who launched Mamatha Nichani’s campaign, said no truck had been struck with any other party. “There is no secret understanding with any party. Mamatha Nichani is not a weak candidate. She is the daughter of a former chief minister. She is being fielded with a specific strategy,” Hari Prasad said.

Both the Congress and the BJP, who formed separate coalitions with the JD(S) in the past, are asking voters to exercise their franchise in order to give the state a stable, single party Government.

While the highly organised BJP has kicked off its campaign across the state well in advance of other parties, the Congress is still grappling with rebels who are threatening to contest against official candidates. The BJP has already utilised the services of one of its star campaigners, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, in two constituencies — Puttur and Udupi in coastal Karnataka — that will go to polls in the second phase on May 16.

The Gujarat Chief Minister in his campaign in coastal Karnataka on Sunday compared the region, where communal tensions often run high, to his own state. Incidentally, BJP is facing a rebel candidate in the Puttur constituency.