Former Karnataka CM H D Kumaraswamy meets Prashant Kishor on JD(S) revival strategy

Former Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday (February 25) said that he held a meeting with election strategist Prashant Kishor on plans to devise a strategy for the revival of the party in the state.

"I have spoken to him (Prashant Kishore)...With a view to organising politically in Karnataka for the future. First round of discussions has happened. I will tell you later," Kumaraswamy told the media. Top JD(S) sources had recently said that Kumaraswamy decided to meet Prashant Kishor after the party serious setbacks in successive polls.

It may be recalled that the JD(S) had won only 37 of 225 seats in the 2018 assembly polls but Kumaraswamy managed to become the chief minister of Karnataka with the support of Congress. The party fared badly in 2019 Lok Sabha poll too as it succeeded in winning only one seat out of 28 in the state.

The performance of JD(S) was so bad in Lok Sabha poll that even party patriarch and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda faced defeat in the parliamentary polls. The downfall of JD(S) continued in December 2019 bypoll too as the party did not win even a single seat out of 15 assembly constituencies in the state.

Prashant Kishor's Indian Political Action Committee (I- PAC) had joined hands with the Aam Aadmi Party ahead of Delhi Assembly election and the party's splendid performance is another example that the strategies devised by Kishor often prove helpful for the political parties.

Notably, I-PAC had also helped in the election campaign of Narendra Modi in 2014. Kishor's team had also worked with JD(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ahead of 2015 Bihar Assembly election.

Kishor, who was the Janata Dal (United) national vice- president, was recently expelled from the party after his public spat with CM Nitish Kumar over Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens.

When asked to comment on the B S Yediyurappa-led BJP government in the state, Kumaraswamy said, "I don't want to discuss about the current government. There is no need for it as there is nothing worth discussing about this government. When there is no development, what (is there) to discuss? Let's wait and see, they (BJP) have asked for six months."