By M.K. Mohanraj

Mandya: With the Karnataka Assembly elections just a year away, the stage has been set for party hopping by politicians who are seeking greener pastures in their political future.

In a bid to further boost its prospects in the upcoming Assembly polls, the JD(S), which has a strong base in Mandya district, is said to be wooing senior Congress leader and former Minister M.S. Atmananda.

State JD(S) President C.M. Ibrahim, who contacted Atmananda over phone, is said to have extended an invitation to him on joining the JD(S), which invite is even acknowledged by Atmananda.

Meanwhile, the BJP too is not lagging behind in wooing leaders of other parties or independents. The BJP is said to be wooing Induvalu Sachidananda, who is widely traversing across Srirangapatna Assembly Constituency of late with an eye on contesting the polls.

Last year, the then Mandya District in-Charge Minister K.C. Narayangowda had visited the residence of Sachidananda in a bid to persuade him to join the BJP. Now, Health Minister Dr. K. Sudhakar too visited his residence recently and extended an invitation for joining BJP.

Continuing its drive for bringing in popular leaders to the party, the BJP is also said to have set its eyes on K.S. Vijayananda, the grandson of popular leader of the district late K.V. Shankaragowda, who was also a former Minister. But Vijayananda, who is currently in the JD(S), is said to have rejected the invitation of BJP leaders.

On the other hand, Keelara Radhakrishna, who is said to be trying for a JD(S) ticket from Mandya, is likely to switch over to the BJP if he fails in getting the JD(S) ticket.

In other developments, Dr. Krishna, a JD(S) leader of the district, had joined the Congress. Political watchers feel that there may be more defections to come in the coming days as the Assembly polls gets nearer.