from daijiworld's political correspondent (MB)

Mangalore, Oct 22: All political parties seem to be suffering from 'Down' syndrome now, 'down-in-the-dumps', that is.

Congress, in twin DK districts, faced a serious reversal in Mangalore city corporation and local body polls. The BJP, in spite of holding several assembly and Lok Sabha seats in the region, fared very badly at the state-level. Besides, its long-cherished dream of having its chief minister in Karnataka has gone down the drain. Its tenure of sharing power with JD(S) for 20 months is only a matter of archives. The JD(S) has fared well at the state level, but in the coastal districts, its score-card is minimal.

Some of the politicians and petty leaders in DK and Udupi district are said to thinking in terms of changing parties, to ensure their own political future. No prizes for guessing that the motive is only power and profit. Otherwise, how can one explain the rationale behind BJP activisits becoming 'secular' overnight and Congressmen turning saffron at the drop of a hat?

Now there are rumours floating around about the likely change-over of parties by two prominent secular leaders. How far the reports are true is anybody's guess.

All of a sudden, by Saturday, the political circles in the district went abuzz with reports that Amaranath Shetty Kodman, a JD(S) leader from Moodbidri, a former MLA and a one-time minister with a strong popular base, could join the BJP. Some years ago, when Justice Kowdoor Sadananda Hegde was fielded as a common candidate of the BJP and the Janata party from Udupi, it was the same Amaranath Shetty who had seen to it that the BJP's name would not appear anywhere in the publicity material - banners of posters - and Hegde was projected as a common candidate of a non-Congress front. He has always ensured that his secular credentials would remain intact.

When the late Ramakrishna Hegde's JD(U) joined hands with the BJP, Shetty kept quiet. If he did so, it was more out of loyalty towards Hegde, say his supporters. Similarly, personally, he might not have approved of Kumaraswamy under the JD(S) banner forming a government with the BJP. Again, he had to bow to the majority opinion in the party, they add.

Political observers feel that since Congress did not fare well in the local body elections in Moodbidri area, such rumours are being floated by anti-Shetty elements.

Likewise, rumours are around that former Lok Sabha member from Udupi, Vinayakumar Sorake, is planning to join the BJP. When asked about it, he quizzed back as to how he could go against a party which was responsible for his political ascent as MLA from Puttur and MP from Udupi.

All this boils down to a single formula for politicians - if you cannot beat your opponents, float damaging rumours about them.