Deve Gowda says his priority is 2018 poll
Clarifying that his immediate focus was on strengthening the party to face the 2018 Assembly elections, former Prime Minister and National President of Janata Dal (Secular) H.D. Deve Gowda has said that the process of finalising candidates for the elections would begin in September.
Mr. Gowda is touring North Karnataka districts in the first leg of his tour of various districts. He told presspersons on Wednesday prior to the JD(S) convention in Hubballi that the earlier announcement of announcing the candidates in August had been kept at bay considering the changed political scenario.
Considering the urgency shown to launch new projects and inaugurate completed ones by the Siddaramaiah government, there was an impression that the Congress might go for early polls, because of which JD(S) too had begun preparations and had shortlisted candidates. However, considering the subsequent changes, it was decided to begin the process after six teams completed the tour of various districts and the process of getting feedback, he said. The party’s parliamentary board would then take a decision on the candidates based on the feedback in the respective constituencies.
Positive response
Mr. Deve Gowda said it was for the first time after 1997 that he had embarked on an extensive tour of North Karnataka for the sake of building the party. He had received a positive response on the prospects of the party in the region.
To a query, he clarified that what he had done for North Karnataka was on record and it was his political opponents who had termed him as anti-North Karnataka. He said both Congress and BJP had the ‘disease’ of trying to finish him off politically and he had always fought back as the people supported him.
He also alleged that there was hidden understanding between the Congress and the BJP. “When BJP was in power, Mr. Siddaramaiah as Opposition leader did not make efforts to expose the misrule and corruption of BJP, and now Mr. Jagadish Shettar as Opposition leader was keeping quite on the misrule and corruption of the Congress.”
No national politics
Mr. Deve Gowda declined to speak on national politics. “I am 85 now, let me first focus on the 2018 poll. And if my health permits then I will think of other issues.”
On reports about his meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr. Gowda said that he had to meet Mr. Modi him as he was not allotted time to raise certain issues in Parliament. He also declined to make any comment on what would JD(S) do in case of hung assembly.
