Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar’s outreach to JD(S) workers signals push to consolidate Vokkaliga base

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Amid the ongoing political slugfest between Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on the Bidadi township project, the Chief Minister’s appeal to JD(S) workers is for them to see him as a friend rather than an adversary. | Photo Credit: file photo

Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar’s statement that the Congress’s doors are open for Janata Dal (Secular) workers appears to be a carefully drafted message aimed at reshaping Karnataka’s political landscape in the early days of his tenure.

The immediate implication is an effort to draw grassroots workers of the JD(S), particularly in the Old Mysore region, where the Congress and the JD(S) traditionally compete for the same Vokkaliga vote bank.

By addressing workers in his Kanakapura constituency on Sunday, Mr. Shivakumar is signalling that the Congress is willing to accommodate local JD(S) leaders and cadre who feel sidelined after the BJP-JD(S) alliance.

In the last few years, several leaders quit the JD(S) and became Congress MLAs, and this led to the sharp fall of the JD(S) seats from 37 in 2018 to 19 in the 2023 Assembly elections. Its vote share too dipped from 18.3% to 13.39% during the period.

The remark was viewed as an early political offensive by Mr. Shivakumar to achieve three objectives — further weakening the JD(S), consolidating Vokkaliga leadership under the Congress, and strengthening the Congress’s organisational base ahead of the 2028 elections.

As the first Vokkaliga Chief Minister from the Congress in two decades, Mr. Shivakumar is seeking to emerge as the principal political leader of the community. The JD(S) has historically relied on Vokkaliga support, particularly in southern Karnataka. If even a section of the JD(S) workers shift allegiance to the Congress, it could accelerate the erosion of the JD(S)’s traditional base.

The statement apparently serves as a political message to Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy. Coming just four days after Mr. Shivakumar assumed office, it suggests