Mysuru mayoral polls: Sign of another round of JD(S)–BJP bonhomie?

Congress has accused its former ally, JD(S), of entering into a ‘secret pact’ with BJP

The collapse of the understanding between the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) in the mayoral polls of Mysuru on Wednesday, leading to the installation of Bharatiya Janata Party’s Sunanda Palanetra in the coveted post, has come after months of uneasy political relationship between the two “secular” partners, whose leaders have often exchanged barbs. With stakes high for both the Congress and the JD(S) in many parts of Old Mysore region, where the saffron party is yet to firmly establish itself, the “natural allies” turn out to be “bitter rivals” during elections, be it to the Lok Sabha, the Assembly, or local bodies, to retain their respective political identities.