Will HD Kumaraswamy put an end to Zameer’s exploits?

Bengaluru: The chasm in the JD(S) is growing with all eyes on party state president H.D. Kumaraswamy’s next move after his one-time confidant, B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan, openly claimed that he along with two other legislators had voted for the Congress party in the Council polls from Bengaluru Urban constituency.

This is seen as nothing but a defiance of Mr Kumaraswamy’s leadership after the JD(S) reportedly struck a secret pact with the BJP to ensure the Congress did not walk away with a majority of the 25 seats. Speaking to DC, a senior JD(S) legislator said that technically, the party cannot take any action against those who voted for the Congress as the JD(S) did not field a candidate in Bengaluru Urban. “The party did not issue a whip to its legislators. This being the case, Mr Khan exploited it to the hilt on Sunday to send a message across to Mr Kumaraswamy that he had made up his mind to quit the party when the opportune time comes,” the source said.

Apart from this, Mr Khan and many leaders in JD(S) are upset with Mr Kumaraswamy inordinately delaying the reconstitution of the party’s district and taluk committees. “They also have a grouse that Mr Kumaraswamy is not taking any of his one-time loyalists into confidence while making appointments within the party or choosing candidates. Mr Khan is merely expressing these sentiments openly,” the source explained.

There could be another reason for Mr Khan’s ‘open declaration.’ He and many leaders in JD(S) had struck a tacit understanding with Congress rebel candidate, Dayananda Reddy, who had reportedly promised to ‘meet their expectations’ on the eve of elections. But these leaders were upset with Mr Reddy going underground three days before the polls, so Mr Khan wanted to clear the air by stating that he had voted for the Congress, sources said.