Janata Dal (Secular) supremo and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda has sacked CM Ibrahim from the post of the party’s Karnataka state president for challenging his son HD Kumaraswamy’s decision to go with the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. At a press conference in Bengaluru, HD Deve Gowda announced that the party has dissolved its state executive committee and that HD Kumaraswamy will serve as its ad-hoc president.
The decision confirms the split within the JD(S) days after CM Ibrahim held a meeting on Monday opposing the party's decision to form an alliance with the BJP. CM Ibrahim said that the decision to ally with the BJP was taken without consulting the party's members. He even hinted at splitting the party and suggested that his side of the party was the 'original' JD(S).
CM Ibrahim has made no attempt to hide his contempt against the party's decision to ally with the BJP. He said that it questions the JD(S)’ premise as a ‘secular’ party.
On September 22, BJP national president JP Nadda posted a picture on X announcing that the JD(S) had formally joined the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). In the picture, Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah stood with Kumaraswamy and his son, actor-politician Nikhil Gowda.
The JD(S) has eight members of the Deve Gowda family who are currently in politics and following the announcement that the party would join the NDA, dissent emerged within the JD(S) ranks. CM Ibrahim questioned the presence of Nikhil Gowda in Delhi for the announcement of the alliance with the BJP. He questioned why Deve Gowda was not present and why the party's lone MP Prajwal Revanna was also kept out.
The JD(S), a regional party, has previously allied with both the BJP and the Congress. The party is currently facing an existential crisis. In the 2023 assembly elections, the party’s seats plummeted to 19 out of 224, and its vote share dipped from 18 percent in 2018 to around 13 percent in 2023.
Ibrahim is a seasoned veteran in Karnataka politics and was previously a state and Union minister. He commands a sizable following among Muslims and is also known for his understanding of the Lingayat sect, often quoting the teachings of the social reformer Basavanna.