Leaders of the Janata Dal (Secular) on Saturday paid tearful tributes to A. Krishnappa, party’s State unit president who passed away a couple of days ago, at a condolence meeting here.
An emotional H.D. Deve Gowda, party’s national president, said Krishnappa’s sudden demise had created a vacuum in the party and it would be difficult for the JD(S) to recover from the shock.
“It is really testing time for the party,” Mr. Gowda said in a choked voice. A visibly upset Mr. Gowda said that party was facing one or the other test in the recent days and it was time the cadres joined hands to reinvigorate the party.
Describing Krishnappa as the unquestionable leader of the Yadava community in the State, he recalled the contributions of the departed leader in strengthening the party base.
The former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said Krishnappa started working to strengthen the JD(S) immediately after joining the party in the run-up to 2013 Assembly polls.
Krishnappa had strived to get maximum number of seats to the party in the Lok Sabha polls to help Mr. Gowda play a major role in case the alternative front was to form the government, he said.
JD(S) working president Bandeppa Kashempur described Krishnappa’s death as a great loss to the backward community in the State.
President of the JD(S) parliamentary board H.C. Neeravari and party general secretary Abdul Azeem also spoke.
New State presidentMr. Gowda told presspersons on the sidelines of the programme that the party would have its new State president after the Lok Sabha election results were announced. Till then, M.S. Narayana Rao, executive president of the party, would function as the State president on an ad hoc basis, he announced.
