Pushs and pulls weigh down JD(S) in Mysuru

MYSURU: Trouble is brewing in JD(S) in Mysuru district with G T Devegowda, former minister and Chamundeshwari MLA, raising a banner of revolt against the party leaders. While he made no bones saying that he is not for inclusion of former MP Adagooru H Vishwanath in the party, the senior leader took on JD(S) MLA from KR Nagar Sa Ra Mahesh. Devegowda said that he will abstain from party activities as he is hurt with party leaders, who, he said, are not controlling the KR Nagar MLA. This comes on a day when the party's senior leader S Chikkamadu said that Vishwanath will quit Congress to join them. According to him, Vishwanath is ready to to join JD(S). Devegowda, who is grooming his son Harish Gowda in politics, wants him to be fielded from Hunsur assembly segment, which he had represented earlier. Now that Vishwanath is tipped to be JD(S) candidate from Hunsur, Devegowda is upset and angry about Mahesh, who, he said, has insulted the supporters of Harish during a booth-level meeting of the party workers in the city last week. During the meeting, a group of the party activists from Hunsur had asked the state unit chief H D Kumaraswamy to field Harish, leading to commotion.Kumarswamy lost his cool too and slapped a party leader. "The supporters of KR Nagar MLA have insulted my son's followers and have spoken badly about me and my family in the presence of Kumaraswamy. Peeved over the development, I have decided to abstain from party activities," Devegowda told TOI. "Though I remained silent, I cannot take it anymore," he stated. According to Devegowda, he and his son have built the party at Hunsur over the last nine years. Though Congress is representing the assembly segment, the party has managed to do well in civic and zilla and taluk panchayat polls. JD(S) had emerged as the single-largest party in TP polls, bagging 12 seats. This apart, it has also managed to rule the local body at Hunsur town even when Congress is the single-largest party. "It is Kumarswamy who projected my son as the party candidate during ZP and TP polls. But now, Mahesh is unnecessarily meddling in Hunsur and Chamundeshwari assembly segments," he claimed. Devegowda's charge is that Mahesh has overlooked him and has taken officials on spot inspection in Chamundeshwari segment.Though Mahesh is representing KR Nagar, Congress has performed better in civic polls and in zilla and taluk panchayat polls, he said, adding that he has brought all this to the notice of the party supremo H D Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy. "But sadly, they have not acted against him," he stated.