Ideological Elements in Political Instability in Karnataka: Janata Dal in the 1990s

There are strenuous difficulties in managing competing social groups, segments and regions in the political landscape of Karnataka. These difficulties have been accentuated by touchy issues of status, including preoccupation with personal honor and the desire for respect. Politicians, at either local or state levels, are not equally preoccupied and the preoccupations which exist play themselves out in different ways with varying levels of intensity. In this paper the focus is on instability in the party leadership in the state of Karnataka in the late 1990s. The author argues that there were ideological elements which helped to shape political rivalries and provide rationalizations for political action.