The Hindu : Gowda-Bommai meeting unlikely

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 03, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

Gowda-Bommai meeting unlikely

By S. Rajendran

Bangalore April 2. The meeting between the former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda, and the All-India Janata Dal President, S.R. Bommai, is unlikely to take place on Friday and the reasons for it have been indicated to the "well-wishers" of the two factions of the Janata Dal who have been working towards a merger of the factions.

Mr. Deve Gowda told The Hindu here today that he would meet Mr. Bommai only after the second-line leaders of the All-India Janata Dal held discussions among themselves and authorised him to go ahead with the merger talks.

"They have to prepare the guidelines and collectively involve themselves in the merger process. There is nothing much that a few leaders can do by themselves since there is always the scope for a splinter group to remain. We are particular that there should be a total merger."

Mr. Deve Gowda, who is now in the forefront of the Janata Parivar leadership following various political developments and the ill health of Ramakrishna Hegde, said he would be happy if there was a merger of all the Janata Dal factions.

"We have to work out a viable alternative to the Congress and the BJP at the national level and in the State. In Karnataka, the Janata Parivar can quite easily dislodge the ruling Congress party in the next Assembly elections and get into the driver's seat. All that we have to work out is a proper understanding."

Meanwhile, top leaders of the Janata Dal (Secular), including Mr. Deve Gowda and the State unit President and former Deputy Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, called on the BJP MP and former Finance Minister, M. Rajasekhara Murthy, and spent an hour discussing the developments on the merger front.

While Mr. Murthy categorically stated that he would join the Janata Parivar after the merger, the JD(S) leaders were believed to have sought his cooperation in their merger efforts.

Sources in the Janata Parivar said Mr. Murthy was offered an important position, with one section stating that he had been offered the presidentship of the State unit of the Janata Parivar and another stating that he would be made the national president.

Mr. Murthy and Mr. Bommai belong to the Veerashaiva community and are closer followers of the Suttur Mutt Swamiji who initiated the merger discussions on Monday.

Contrary to the expectations of Mr. Deve Gowda that the All-India Janata Dal leaders should prepare the guidelines prior to his meeting with Mr. Bommai, the second-line leaders of the AIJD told The Hindu that there was not much preparation required.

The problem that had come in the way of the merger and which ultimately resulted in the formation of the AIJD in December last was the presidentship of the united Janata Dal at the national level and in the State.

In their view, if the presidentship of the national outfit went in favour of one party, the presidentship at the State level should go to the other.

The JD(S) demand that both the positions should go to it was not acceptable then and would not be acceptable now.

Further, the AIJD wants to tread cautiously while dealing with Mr. Murthy since the leaders have no idea about his role in the merger discussions.

The JD(S), it is believed, has made an offer to the senior politician in an effort to woo him.

The stalemate in the AIJD over submitting a letter to the presiding officers of the two houses of the Legislature seeking a separate block of seats for the party legislators is still to be resolved.

A section of the legislators are dodging the party leadership in affixing their signatures to the letter.

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