The Janata Dal (Secular), which is yet to recover from the shock of its humiliating defeat in the recently concluded Lok Sabha bypolls to Bangalore Rural and Mandya Lok Sabha constituencies, received another jolt when Mallikarjun Khuba, MLA from Basavakalyana Assembly Constituency (Bidar), threatened to resign if his demand for the post of chief whip of the party in the Lower House is not met.He has written a letter in this regard to national president H.D. Deve Gowda.
In his letter, Mr. Khuba said he was an aspirant for the post of chief whip of the party in the Legislative Assembly and had already written to Leader of the Opposition H.D. Kumaraswamy about this.
With Mr. Kumaraswamy quitting the post, his demand had lost its importance. If the party does not consider his demand, he might be forced to quit, he added.
After the core committee meeting of the party, which was held in the city on today, Mr. Deve Gowda told presspersons that he had received Mr. Khuba’s letter and would persuade the disgruntled MLA to change his mind.
Mr. Khuba got elected from Basavakalyana constituency in the recent election with a margin of 15,983 votes
Another demand
Bidar Staff Correspondent reports:
Mr. Khuba has sent a letter to Mr. Deve Gowda, JD(S) national president, staking his claim for the post of State unit president.
I request you to retain H.D. Kumaraswamy as the State unit president to protect the interests of the party. In case the appointment of another leader to the post becomes inevitable, then I would like to inform you that I am among the contenders for the post. If you perceive this as disobedience, then, I am willing to resign my membership of the legislature, Mr. Khuba said. If made the party president, I will strive hard to remove the label of the JD(S) being anti-Lingayat and to attract large number of Lingayat voters to the party. I will also strengthen the party in Hyderabad Karnataka region, he said. He also urged Mr. Deve Gowda to consider him for the post of the party chief whip.
However, sources close to Mr. Khuba said this is an attempt by him to pre-empt Bandeppa Kashempur, former MLA and Kuruba leader, from gaining the post.
Mr. Khuba could not be contacted.
