HD Deve Gowda, the chief of Janata Dal (Secular) in Karnataka, recently got a shock with two JD(S) members of the Legislative Council resigning. This brought down the strength of the party to 15 in the 75-member House. Former minister Iqbal Ansari, upset over PGR Sindhia’s appointment as the party’s working president, also decided to quit the party.
N Tippanna and BR Gurudev also submitted their resignations. Tippanna cited Gowda’s autocratic way of functioning and lack of individual freedom as reasons. Gurudev, who had identified with BJP, cited personal reasons. JD (S) has charged BJP with engineering the resignations. But do Tippanna’s charges ring a bell?