H D Gowda’s dilly-dallying worries party leaders

BENGALURU: Congress and JD(S) workers are perturbed over the delay in a formal announcement of the constituency from where former Prime Minister and JD(S) president HD Deve Gowda will contest the

Lok Sabha elections

although reports suggest that he has opted for Tumakuru over Bengaluru North.


“The delay will come at a cost; the longer the delay, the bigger the cost,” a senior JD(S) leader said on condition of anonymity. “It has already dealt a huge blow to the morale of party workers, especially in the Old Mysuru region.”

Some coalition workers are worried about chief minister HD Kumaraswamy’s decision to field his son Nikhil from Mandya. They feel it could take a toll on the party’s performance in other constituencies if Kumaraswamy devotes all his time and energy to help his son win a tough contest against actor Sumalatha Ambareesh.

“Gowda and Kumaraswamy need to steer the coalition to curb factionalism and muster unity, so the delay will affect our campaign and poll prospects,’’ a Congress leader said. While praising Gowda and his family, he went overboard and equated them to the demons. “The entire family work like demons. Whether they win or lose, it doesn’t matter, they work tirelessly for the party,’’ he told reporters.

Voters in Karnataka will cast their votes on April 18 and 23. The last dates for filing of nominations are March 26 and April 4.

‘Decision on Monday’

JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda will decide on his choice of constituency on March 25 after a meeting with senior party leaders, small scale industries minister SR Srinivas said on Thursday. The last-minute decision by Nikhil Kumaraswamy not to file his first set of nominations papers on Thursday led to speculation that Gowda may opt to contest from Mandya because there is a stiff resistance to the actor-turnedpolitician from Congress workers.


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