JOIN USCommunal politics has never worked in Karnataka: Kumaraswamy
Former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) has slammed the recent communal controversies in Karnataka. He speaks to Shruthi H M Sastry on why he has come down heavily on the BJP government, the party’s plans and prospects for the 2023 Assembly elections.
Excerpts:
You’ve attacked the BJP on the halal meat controversy. But, it appears that sometimes you support BJP and condemn Congress, while other times it’s vice-versa. People are getting confusing signals. What is your party’s ideological stand?
I’m neither in favour of BJP’s communal politics nor am I in favour of the Congress’ understanding of secularism. My concern is to make use of government revenue for the public interest.
This is the only ideology. I did not go hard on the BJP till now as there was Covid. This led to a lot of adverse publicity that we want to ally with BJP. I’m clear that this time I am not going to compromise with either BJP or Congress. We want to focus on development and communal harmony.
The recent issues raked up by right-wing organisations such as the hijab and halal controversies do not bode well for the state’s peace and I’m raising my voice against this.
You had earlier announced that the JD(S) aims to win 123 seats in 2023 Assembly elections. Has the party begun ground-level preparations to meet this target?
We had to slow down a bit during Covid. But, we’ve begun our work. We will begin our Janata Jaladhare campaign soon, focussing on issues related to water resources in the state. When it comes to river disputes in our state, the Centre has been apathetic to us. When it comes to Kaveri, Krishna or Mahadayi, other states get more support from the Centre. There’s also the Pancharathna programme, where we’ll focus on housing, education, health, school, farmers, and employment generation-related issues. Overall, we’re looking at development-oriented programmes.
Are you still aiming to secure 123 seats?
We are. We will for sure win 80-90 seats. The fight is for the additional 20-30 seats.
Both the national parties are working at cadre building at the ground level. Where does the JD(S) stand?
Some people are doing membership drives at the booth level. However, we cannot stop at this. We’re working on a better presence on social media. We’ll be appointing a person who will oversee social media for all constituencies. We’re also reaching out to Raitha Sangha and Kannada activists who are passionate about regional development.
Which are the regions where you have strong prospects?
We’re strong in Hyderabad-Karnataka. In Mumbai-Karnataka, we have a presence in Vijayapura. That apart, we have good prospects for a few seats in Belagavi, Uttara Kannada, Gadag and Haveri. In the south, we similarly have a few seats in Mysuru, Mandya, Tumakuru, Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Hassan and Chikkamagaluru districts. We’ll focus on districts where we have a chance to win.
The BSP, which once had a strong presence in Uttar Pradesh, suffered an embarrassing loss in the UP elections. Any lessons for you here, as a regional party?
Karnataka’s political situation is different. People believe that JD(S) is an alternative to Congress and BJP. People are fed up with both the national parties.
You’ve mentioned several times that Karnataka is not like UP. But the BJP’s Hindutva agenda seems to be paying off electoral dividends in Karnataka. What do you think will change in 2023?
In my opinion, communal politics has never worked in Karnataka. The reason for BJP coming to power in Karnataka in 2019 was Siddaramaiah. He projected JD(S) as BJP’s ‘B’ team. As a result, even in places where we had good prospects, Muslims voted for Congress. BJP shot up to 104 seats. Otherwise, they’d not have crossed 74 seats. We’d have been at 65 seats.
Now, the BJP is trying to emulate the UP model of political engineering. I believe such politics will backfire in Karnataka.
So, will Kumaraswamy be the CM in 2023?
There’s no doubt about it. I’m confident JD(S) will come to power.
Watch the latest DH Videos here: