The Janata Dal (Secular)‘s poor show in the recently concluded elections to Legislative Council signals declining strength of the regional party over the last couple of years in the Upper House, where the party’s numbers mattered in important votes that the House witnessed. While the regional party’s strength has reduced drastically, the period has also marked the improved numbers of the ruling BJP, which now has the majority in the House for the first time.
Seven big losses
The party has lost seven seats since November 2020, that includes two of its members moving away to BJP from where they have won. Those who migrated to saffron party are former Chairman Basavaraj Horatti, who won the record eighth time from Karnataka West Teachers constituency on Wednesday, and MLC Puttanna, who won from Bangalore Teachers constituency in November 2020. Another former JD(S) leader, A. Deve Gowda, moved to the BJP to win from Bangalore Graduates constituency.
