Will JD(S) vacate head office?

It appears that the Janata Dal (Secular), which was supposed to move out of its party office at No. 3, Race Course Road on December 31, might not vacate on Wednesday. The party has filed a curative petition in the Supreme Court and is pinning hopes on it.

Considering the apex court’s verdict, the party has to move out of the building after 37 years. In January 2014, the Supreme Court had asked the JD(S) to vacate the building in favour of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee.

Apprehensive of the outcome of the petition, the JD(S) has intensified its hunt for a new office. Ramesh Babu, party’s official spokesperson, told

The Hindu that if the court admits the curative petition, the party would get some breathing time. “We are just waiting for the court’s verdict. In case of an adverse judgment, we are prepared to vacate the building,” he said.

Mr. Babu said the party had approached the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike seeking land on lease. It has also appealed to the Bangalore Development Authority to allot a civic amenity site. It has asked the government to allocate land or a site for the party office ‘orally’.

“The Janata Dal sanctioned land for both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party to build their office in the city during its tenure,” he said.

National president H.D. Deve Gowda said even after four months of filing the application with the BDA seeking land for the office, and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah promising to clear the file personally, nothing had been done so far.