Bengaluru: The Congress and the Janata Dal (S) may have to re-work their strategies and join hands to keep the BJP - now on a high following its landslide victory in Uttar Pradesh - at bay in Karnataka in the 2018 Assembly poll, say political observers here.
Dr Harish Ramaswamy, professor of political science at the Karnatak University, Dharwad, warns that having conquered Uttar Pradesh, the BJP will leave no stone unturned to do the same in Karnataka.
"The only way to defeat it is for the Congress and JD(S) to opt for a pre-poll alliance. The two parties enjoy a good rapport and so should seriously consider this to stop the BJP from coming to power," he says, also warning that the Congress and JD(S) may begin to lose quite a few of their leaders to the BJP, starting five to six months prior to the Assembly polls.
While Prof Muzaffar Assadi, a political observer, believes the BJP under the leadership of Mr B.S. Yeddyurappa may not get more than 70 seats due to internal bickering in the party and his sulking image, he warns that the ruling Congress may have to be satisfied with merely 60 or 70 seats and the JD(S) with around 40.
"The BJP will under no circumstances get a majority . But both the Congress and JD(S) must act like Lav and Kush of the Ramayana to check the rise of the Ashwamedha horse (BJP)," he says, adding , "The anti-incumbency factor may or may not work against the Siddaramaiah government as we have classic examples of West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Tamil Nadu where the ruling party won the elections comfortably."
