DV Sadananda Gowda held various portfolios including law, chemicals and fertilisers, railways, and statistics and programme implementation between 2014 and 2021 in the PM Narendra Modi Cabinet.
Published Nov 09, 2023 | 7:04 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 09, 2023 | 7:05 PM
File photo of DV Sadananda Gowda. (DVSBJP/Facebook)
BJP veteran and former Karnataka chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda on Wednesday, 8 November, announced his retirement from electoral politics.
The decision, coming ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, added a new dimension to Karnataka’s political landscape.
With a political career spanning three decades, Gowda, who currently represents Bengaluru North in the Lok Sabha, expressed gratitude for the opportunities his party provided him.
The announcement follows his earlier expressions of frustration with the party, when he raised questions about ticket distribution and alliance decisions.
Meanwhile, BJP Parliamentary Board member and former chief minister BS Yediyurappa asserted that Sadananda Gowda announced his decision to retire from electoral politics on the directives from the party high command.
Subsequently, sources in the party claimed that everal senior BJP leaders — especially incumbent parliamentarians — were likely to announce retirement from electoral politics in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
This development marks the conclusion of an illustrious political journey that saw Sadananda Gowda hold crucial positions in both state and national governments, including ministerial roles for several years in the Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He held portfolios including law, chemicals and fertilisers, railways, and statistics and programme implementation between 2014 and 2021 in the Union Cabinet. He resigned from the Union minister post in July 2021.
Gowda told reporters on Wednesday: “I have decided not to continue in electoral politics. For 30 years, my party has given me everything. After BS Yediyurappa, I’m the number one beneficiary in the party.”
Responding to speculation about his potential role as the state BJP president, he reflected on his extensive political journey.
“I have been in politics for 30 years — 10 years as MLA, 20 years as MP, one year as chief minister, one and a half years as the Leader of the Opposition (in Legislative Council), five years as the deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, four and a half years as party president, and for seven years I was a minister in the Union Cabinet under Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he noted.
“If a politician is not happy after all this, he is not a true politician; he is selfish,” added Gowda.
This decision follows his call in June for the party’s leadership to dispel speculation regarding the potential exclusion of 13 incumbent BJP MPs — including himself — from receiving party tickets in next year’s Lok Sabha elections.
During this time, Gowda expressed his frustration with the party’s perceived inaction in addressing these concerns.
The seasoned politician also raised concerns about the lack of consultation with state leaders before the party entered into an alliance with the JD(S).
Additionally, he lamented the delay in appointing a Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly.
Though Sadananda Gowda asserted that it was his decision to retire, Yediyurappa told reporters in Bengaluru on Thursday that directives of the BJP high command were behind it.
Yediyurappa added: “The high command conveyed to him directly not to contest in the upcoming elections. He himself said that the party had given him everything and that he held various positions. He will continue to participate in the party affairs.”
BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan told reporters on Thursday: “He used to say that he has been in politics for a very long time and it was time to retire from electoral politics. Now, he has taken a strong stand by announcing his retirement from politics. I have huge respect for him as he is a senior leader. The party is yet to comment on this.”
On whether the announcement was made on the directives of the high command, Sadananda Gowda told reporters in Mandya on Thursday: “The party has given me everything. I planned to take retirement soon after completing 25 years in politics. The party had other plans and pressured me to continue in electoral politics for another term. Hence, I contested the elections last time.”
He added: “Now, I have announced my retirement six months earlier, so that I can find youngsters and help the party win in a thumping majority.”
BJP leaders like Bagalkot MP PC Gaddigoudar, Vijayapura MP Ramesh Jigajinagi, Belagavi MP Mangana Angadi, Davanagere MP GM Siddeshwar, Koppal MP Karadi Sanganna, and Chamarajanagar MP V Srinivas Prasad are likely to not get a party ticket for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
“The party has already held talks with some of the senior MPs in the party. They have been conveyed that they will not be getting a ticket in the coming general elections,” claimed sources in the party.
“The party is planning to field new faces in some of the segments. More retirement announcements are likely in the lead-up to the general elections,” they added.
Former Union minister and incumbent Vijayapura MP Ramesh Jigajinagi told South First: “The party has not held any talks or meeting with me on this regard. It has already conveyed to me that I have to contest in the next general elections as well.”
The six-time parliamentarian added: “I would not like to comment about other leaders and their decisions.”
