Ganga Aarti being performed. | Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN
Blowing the poll bugle ahead of the Assembly elections in 2023, former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Friday announced that he would undertake a State-wide rathyatra after June.
“During the three-month rathyatra, I will touch every constituency and visit villages seeking a mandate for the Janata Dal (Secular) to form independent government,” he said at the culmination of the nearly month-long Janata Jaladhare organised by the party to highlight water issues in the State.
The massive rally near Nelamangala attracted party workers and leaders from across the State. It had performances by artists, including the famed Ganga Aarti of Kashi .
Mr. Kumaraswamy also urged the youth leaders in the party to hold a massive rally either in Kalaburagi or Belagavi. He brought cousins – State youth president Nikhil Kumaraswamy and Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna – to the stage, and said the onus of attracting the youth remained on them and other youth leaders in the party. :Do not worry about the criticism,” he said.
Like father
Taking a cue from a statement made by Nanjavadhootha Swami on the occasion, the two-time Chief Minister said” “I am the phoenix rising from the ashes.” Earlier, referring to the promise that former Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda made on the floor of the Lok Sabha that he will rise like a phoenix during the vote of no confidence that he lost, Nanjavadhootha Swami had said Mr. Kumaraswamy too was like the phoenix.
Promising to address the problems of the State, including education, health, women and farmers’ issues, and unemployment among others, the JD(S) leader said: “Give me a full mandate to run five years. If I fail to meet my promise, the JD(S) will not seek your votes. The Pancha Ratna scheme should not be taken lightly. I am serious about implementing it. All communities have to live peacefully in the State and I need your support.”
‘Rally is answer’
He said that for those who take the party lightly, the attendance at the rally is an answer. “I will not let you down and I will bring honour to you. We had not come out during COVID-19 pandemic to protect lives. Like the BJP and the Congress, we were not in a hurry.”
The convention was attended by senior leaders, including party supremo Mr. Deve Gowda, State president C.M. Ibrahim, and core committee chairman Bandeppa Kashempur.
