JDS Joins BJP-Led NDA: Why This Alliance Will Benefit Both Parties

After much speculation, the JDS has joined the BJP-led NDA alliance. It was formally announced on Friday.

Former Karnataka CM and JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy met BJP National President JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi.

After meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi, HD Kumaraswamy said, "Today formally we discussed about joining hands with the BJP. We've discussed the preliminary issues formally...There is no demand (from our side)."

Welcoming the JDS into the NDA fold, BJP national president JP Nadda said, "Met Former Chief Minister Karnataka and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy in the presence of our senior leader and Home Minister Amit Shah. I am happy that JD(S) has decided to be the part of National Democratic Alliance. We wholeheartedly welcome them in the NDA..."

Why Did JDS Join BJP?

For decades, HD Deve Gowda had maintained distance from the BJP although his son HD Kumaraswamy had joined hands with the BJP in 2006. However, the situation has changed now as the regional party is facing an existential crisis after its poor show in the recently-held Assembly polls.

Political analysts say that the JDS now sees the Congress as a greater threat compared to the BJP. In the state polls held earlier this year, the grand old party witnessed a nearly five percent increase in its vote share, primarily at the expense of the JDS, which was reduced to 19 seats.

A significant portion of the 58 additional seats the Congress secured in comparison to its 2018 performance came from tapping into the JDS voter base in the Old Mysuru region. Although the BJP also gained some JDS votes, it was the Congress that primarily benefitted from the shift of JDS voters away from their party.

Will this benefit JDS and BJP?

Although the JDS performed poorly in the assembly polls, it cannot be written off as it has a strong cadre in the old Mysuru region. The JDS and BJP alliance is a mutually-beneficial deal unlike the JDS-Congress alliance in 2019, which ended up being detrimental for both.

Given their history as traditional adversaries, the top-level alliance between JDS and Congress was poorly received by their respective grassroots workers. The expected transfer of votes didn't materialize, considering both parties wield significant influence in the Old Mysuru region.

However, the BJP has always been a third player in the Vokkaliga heartland. So, the BJP-JDS alliance is beneficial as it has the backing of Lingayats and Vokkaligas. This partnership in addition to their core voter base, the influence of the Narendra Modi brand and the BJP's Hindutva card could significantly affect Congress's Lok Sabha calculation.

In short, the Congress should develop a unique strategy like it did in the assembly polls to prevent the JDS and the BJP from emerging victorious in the next Lok Sabha polls.