In what is being seen as a political signal coming ahead of the election to the Legislative Assembly next year, the Janata Dal (Secular) is displaying signs of distancing itself from both BJP and Congress to build itself a narrative nationally.
While the Congress has been terming the JD(S) as the B-team of saffron party since 2018, the meeting of former Chief Minister and JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy with Telengana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao on Sunday is being termed as a political move to be with secular forces. Last week, Mr. Kumaraswamy had met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar too. Incidentally, both Mr. Rao and Mr. Kumar are at work to build a political front to fight BJP in the 2024 general elections.
JD(S) sources said that Mr. Kumaraswamy’s move to be aligning with secular forces is bound to send a positive signal to minorities whom the party believes deserted them in 2018 elections. Sources believe that aligning with secular forces will help the party in 2023 Assembly elections. “Mr. Kumaraswamy is also keen on building his image nationally since his father and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda’s health does not permit him to remain politically active. There was also pressure on Mr. Kumaraswamy to be active politically at the national level,” say sources.
