The Hindu : Front Page : “We will benefit from BJP misrule”

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Wednesday, Apr 22, 2009
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“We will benefit from BJP misrule”

The debate on the Prime Ministerial candidate that is going on in the media is imaginary at this juncture

The former Karnataka Chief Minister, H.D. Kumaraswamy, who has emerged as the star campaigner for the Janata Dal (S) with his crowd-pulling abilities, has been touring the State during the last two weeks. His schedule was so hectic that he barely managed to visit the Bangalore Rural Lok Sabha constituency, which he is contesting. He spoke to LAIQH A. KHAN at the party guest house in Bangalore on the prospects of the JD(S), which is pitted against the Congress and the BJP, in the three-cornered battle in the State.

How is the JD(S) placed vis-À-vis the BJP and the Congress?

During the campaign, we sensed that the mood of the people is against the BJP government in the State, particularly in relation to power supply and distribution of food grains. The public confidence that the government enjoyed when I was at the helm of affairs has disappeared under the administration of Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa. The common man is rethinking [about voting for the BJP]. I am confident the JD(S) will reap the benefits of public disenchantment with the BJP government.

Why won’t the Congress benefit from this perceived anti-incumbency?

The people of the State compare the present rule of the BJP government with my 20-month regime as Chief Minister. Hence, the losses of the BJP will translate into gains for the JD(S). It will not be the Congress, but the JD(S) that will reap the electoral dividends of the BJP’s misrule.

Your party’s candidates are in the fray in only 21 out of the 28 constituencies, giving room for speculation that the JD(S) and the Congress have a secret understanding.

We were unable to field candidates in some constituencies due to financial constraints. There is no truth in the allegation that there is an understanding with the Congress. It is only false propaganda by the BJP. The Congress is leaving no stone unturned to defeat JD(S) national president H.D. Deve Gowda in Hassan and me in Bangalore Rural.

On hindsight, would a pre-poll alliance between the JD(S) and the Congress have halted the BJP’s march?

Our party has done all that it can to scuttle the growth of the BJP. If the Congress too had focussed on the issue, the BJP would have been reduced to three to four seats in Karnataka.

With Mr. Gowda ruling himself out of the race for the post of Prime Minister, has the party has lost an opportunity to invigorate its rank and file?

We have to bear in mind the limitations of a regional party, which is contesting only 21 out of the 28 seats in Karnataka against a total of 543 seats in the Lok Sabha. It would be premature for Mr. Gowda to claim he was running for Prime Minister under such circumstances. It is another matter that he was Prime Minister earlier. The entire debate on the Prime Ministerial candidate that is going on in the media is imaginary at this juncture. Only after the results are out on May 16 will any picture emerge.

What will be your party’s priorities in the Lok Sabha?

We will pursue the railway projects conceived for the State, take up new highway projects and expedite the ongoing ones, ensure implementation of irrigation projects, raise a voice against the discrimination of the State and ensure proper flow of Central funds to the State.

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