The Janata Dal (Secular) [JD(S)] is facing an internal crisis as H.D. Kumaraswamy joins the third Narendra Modi cabinet as Heavy Industries Minister. The Kerala faction, which is part of the ruling left front and opposes the BJP alliance in Karnataka, is considering forming a new party or merging with another Janata Party.
With Kumaraswamy as a member of the third Modi cabinet, the JD(S) will be a party with a cabinet minister in the BJP-led NDA front and the CPI(M)-led Kerala Left Front, the only state in India ruled by a communist party.
While standing strong in the Left Democratic Front in Kerala, the fact that JD(S) is working as part of the BJP alliance in Karnataka and at the national level calls into question the ideological stance of both the LDF and the JD(S).
K. Krishnankutty, Minister for Electricity in the Pinarayi Vijayan Cabinet, and Mathew T. Thomas, former minister and current JD(S) Kerala unit president, are part of the LDF. Kumaraswamy, the former Chief Minister of Karnataka and the second top leader of the party who took over as the Cabinet-rank minister in the current NDA-led Union government is currently the JD(S) Karnataka unit president. Kumaraswamy, the son of former Indian Prime Minister and JD(S) patriarch H.D. Deve Gowda, holds his position with his father’s blessing. The question arose as to how individuals who contested on the same symbol could be members of two different fronts.
During the Rajya Sabha elections in Karnataka, the Kerala state unit of the party declared that they had no connection with the national leadership.
“The Kerala unit does not accept the politics of BJP and NDA. Now that there are some technical issues, we are thinking of ways to overcome them. The state unit does not accept the stand taken by the central leadership of the party. Being a part of the NDA front cannot be accepted. We made that clear in last year November,” JD(S) Kerala unit president Mathew T. Thomas told Maktoob.
There were discussions within the Kerala chapter of JD(S) about forming a new party and merging with other Janata parties. The Kerala leaders adopted an anti-Hindutva policy and demanded that the party merge with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), another prominent socialist party in India, led by Lalu Prasad Yadav.
“There are many options. It has been suggested that we merge with RJD or the Samajwadi Party. There is also an opinion that a new party should be formed. We have called a state meeting on June 18, where these matters will be discussed,” Thomas said.
Meanwhile, the Kerala unit of RJD which is miffed over the CPI(M)’s refusal to allot one of the Rajya Sabha seats that is falling vacant, publicly questioned JD(S) continuing both in the LDF and NDA at the same time.
Sources say that Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has given the nod for JD(S) Kerala chapter to merge with his party.
The JD(S) Kerala unit is under pressure from the ruling Communist Party of India (CPI(M)), which is seeking clarity on the continued presence of the JD(S) in the LDF despite its electoral alliance with the BJP in Karnataka and at the national level.
Response to the question of pressure within the LDF, Thomas said, “It is for them to say. No one has talked about it yet.”
Congress leader and leader of the opposition in the Kerala Assembly, VD Satheesan, has been consistently criticising the CPI(M), asking it to explain why the JD(S), which is allied with the Hindu nationalist party at the national level, remains part of the LDF and retains cabinet posts in Kerala.
Maktoob has learned that the Kerala unit is planning strategies to maintain its political relevance within the LDF while retaining a ministerial position in the Pinarayi Vijayan-led cabinet. The JD(S) leadership had earlier advised the Kerala unit to take an independent stand, similar to the approach taken by the national leadership when it allied with the BJP in 2006. The decision at the state meeting on June 18 will be decisive
The JD(S) Karnataka faction views a BJP alliance as essential for survival, given internal threats from legislators contemplating defection. The party’s representation in the Karnataka Assembly has declined from 37 seats in 2018 to 19 in the 2023 elections.
The JD(S), formed in 1999, originated from the Janata Party, founded in 1977. Deve Gowda led the JD(S) in 1999, which split over ideological differences regarding an alliance with the BJP-led NDA. Although initially opposed to the NDA, the JD(S) kept its distance from the Congress. In 2015, the JD(S) formed the Rashtriya Janata Parivar with various regional parties to counter the influence of the BJP. However, its political presence remained mainly in Karnataka. In September 2023, the JD(S) joined the BJP-led NDA, a move opposed by the Kerala faction, leading to internal rifts.
The Kerala unit is now considering forming a new party after the Lok Sabha elections, reflecting the tussle with the national leadership following the BJP alliance. A recent meeting in Thiruvananthapuram assessed the party’s state-level performance and national dynamics and considered significant changes in leadership and alliances.
Thomas told the Maktoob that a decision will be taken on whether to remain as a new party or merge with another Janata Party at the state meeting to be held on 18 June.
 [JD(S)] is facing an internal crisis as H.D. Kumaraswamy joins the third Narendra Modi cabinet as Heavy Industries Minister. The Kerala faction, which is part of the ruling left front and opposes the BJP alliance in Karnataka, is considering forming a new party or merging with another Janata Party.){kind=link}