As political parties start gearing up for the 2023 Legislative Assembly elections, Congress leader Siddaramaiah and Janata Dal (S) leaders are back to attacking one another over their “secular credentials”.
A day Mr. Siddaramaiah described the JD(S) as a party without secular principles and one unable to form a government on its own, former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda hit back at his former party colleague.
Mr. Gowda accused him of “spreading misinformation” and sought to remind him of his origins in the JD(S). “We will respond to those humiliating us [now] in the 2023 elections,” the former Prime Minister told party workers on Monday after inaugurating ‘Janata Parva 1.0’ and ‘Mission 123’, a four-day workshop to revitalise the regional party. The JD(S) has set a target of winning 123 Assembly seats to form the government on its own in 2023. As many as 200 party leaders, including legislators, former legislators, and defeated candidates in the 2018 Assembly elections, participated in the workshop.
The participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire with 61 questions about their poll preparations in their constituency, while the challenges and chances of the party were discussed.
Backstabbing
Former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, who had attacked Mr. Siddaramaiah on Sunday, continued his tirade on Monday as well. “The Congress has been responsible for the growth of the BJP. We did not allow the BJP to implement its hidden agenda when the JD(S) formed the government with it. The Congress backstabbed the JD(S) and tried to break the party. Congress called us the B-team of BJP only to cover its lapses,” Mr. Kumaraswamy said.
Interestingly, Mr. Kumaraswamy said that some of party leaders and those who stood second in the last Assembly elections were not invited to the workshop since they had evinced interest in joining other parties.
