The JD(S) has set up a 21-member core committee under Chamundeshwari MLA GT Devegowda to look after the party affairs with Kumaraswamy.
Published Sep 07, 2023 | 5:55 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 07, 2023 | 5:59 PM
JD(S) legislature party leader and former CM HD Kumaraswamy chaired party meeting at his residence in Bengaluru on Wednesday. (Supplied)
The last few weeks have been particularly difficult for JDS in Karnataka. The party lost its lone Lok Sabha member after Prajwal Revanna’s election was declared null by Karnataka High Court. The news of his disqualification came even as his uncle and leader of JDS legislative party HD Kumaraswamy was rushed to the hospital owing to a stroke.
The difficult two weeks had put the party’s morale even lower than it was following its worst -ever poll performance in the recently concluded Karnataka assembly election. Not one to give up, the party has decided to lift itself up and jump head first into re-building mode.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha and local body elections, the Janata Dal (Secular) is likely to undergo a major rejig within the cadre to strengthen the party base at the grassroots across Karnataka.
Nearly four days after being discharged from hospital, JD(S) Legislature Party leader and former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy chaired a meeting with the party leaders, including 19 sitting MLAs recently.
The meeting took place on Wednesday, 6 September, at Kumaraswamy’s residence in Bengaluru.
JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda also called for a meeting of all the party leaders, including MLAs and MLCs, at the Palace Grounds in Bengaluru on 10 September.
Meanwhile, the party has also set up a 21-member core committee under the headship of Chamundeshwari MLA GT Devegowda to look after its affairs along with Kumaraswamy.
On the other hand, the Karnataka High Court invalidated the Lok Sabha membership of the JD(S)’s lone MP Prajwal Revanna on 1 September.
He moved the high court on Wednesday seeking a stay on this verdict for the time being, so that he could get sufficient time to file an appeal before the Supreme Court.
After the JD(S)’s poor show in the 2023 Karnataka Assembly Polls, the regional party has now set its eyes on the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and polls to local bodies, including zilla panchayats and taluka panchayats.
In the 10 May Assembly polls, the JD(S) put up its worst-ever performance in the last two decades, managing to win only 19 seats even as 30 of its incumbent MLAs lost the elections.
The party’s vote share saw a dip by a whopping 5.01 percentage points: It managed to garner a vote share of 13.29 percent compared to 18.3 percent in 2018 Assembly polls.
With an aim to reorganise the party base at the grassroots for the upcoming general elections and local body polls, including the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) polls, JD(S) supremo Deve Gowda has called a meeting of the party’s leaders, including MLAs and MLCs, on 10 September.
ಮಾಜಿ ಪ್ರಧಾನಿಗಳು, @JanataDal_S ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷರಾದ ಶ್ರೀ @H_D_Devegowda ಅವರ ಉಪಸ್ಥಿತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ನನ್ನ ನಿವಾಸದಲ್ಲಿ ಪಕ್ಷದ ಪ್ರಮುಖರ ಮಹತ್ವದ ಸಭೆ ನಡೆಸಲಾಯಿತು. ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಜನರು ಎದುರಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆಗಳು ಹಾಗೂ ಪಕ್ಷದ ಸಂಘಟನೆ ಕುರಿತಂತೆ ಸಮಾಲೋಚನೆ ನಡೆಸಲಾಯಿತು.1/2 pic.twitter.com/cCahty4Q3M
— ಹೆಚ್.ಡಿ.ಕುಮಾರಸ್ವಾಮಿ | H.D.Kumaraswamy (@hd_kumaraswamy) September 6, 2023
JD(S) state president CM Ibrahim told reporters: “The meeting has been called to chalk out a roadmap to build a strong regional party in Karnataka.”
He added: “The party high command has invited all the main party leaders and workers for this meeting. A detailed discussion will be held about the plans for the upcoming Lok Sabha and local body elections and strengthening party base across the state.”
He also said that the party had finalised neither constituencies nor candidates for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
According to the sources, “the JD(S) is planning to contest only between five and seven Lok Sabha seats”, mainly in South Karnataka.
“We have ample time to finalise constituencies and candidates for the general elections. The party’s main aim at the moment is to strengthen the organisation and win as many seats as possible in the local body elections. This will set the tone for us in the Lok Sabha elections,” the JD(S)’s former minister Bandeppa Kashempur told South First.
In the first major decision in the cadre, the JD(S) leadership has set up a 21-member core committee under the headship of Chamundeshwari MLA GT Devegowda.
This core committee comprises MLAs and senior leaders of the party and is likely to go on a statewide tour to assess the party’s status and strength in all 31 districts.
Talking about the core committee, Ibrahim said: “This committee will visit each district and hold talks with local leaders about fielding candidates for the Lok Sabha elections. The committee will also assess the party’s strength in all the districts.”
He added: “The committee will also collect opinions from the local party leaders and workers about appointing district president and other office bearers. Once the committee submits its report to the state core committee then they will begin the further process to carry out the aforementioned appointments. This process is likely to conclude by November or December.”
Kashempur told South First: “This committee has also been entrusted with the responsibility of taking independent decisions related to the party’s affairs. The party was dependent on Kumaraswamy while making major decisions. Now, this committee has been given a free hand.”
On rumours of a few MLAs likely to defect to the Congress, Ibrahim said: “Those are all fake. None of the leaders will leave the party. The JD(S) is working intact.”
He added: “Kumaraswamy has recovered. He is in good condition. He will begin a state tour shortly. I will clarify that the party will contest the Lok Sabha election independently.”
It may be noted that the party contested in seven constituencies in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections but managed to win only in Hassan. It had fought the previous general elections in alliance with the Congress in Karnataka.
Meanwhile, JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna has moved the Karnataka High Court seeking a stay of its order that invalidated his Lok Sabha membership on 1 September.
Revanna, the grandson of former PM Deve Gowda and the JD(S)’s lone member in the Lok Sabha, was disqualified on the charges of submitting a false affidavit while filing his nomination papers in 2019.
The high court disqualified Revanna based on petitions filed by the then BJP candidate A Manju, and a voter in Hassan, advocate Devarajegowda. Incidentally, Manju is now a JD(S) MLA from the Arkalgud Assembly seat.
On Wednesday, Revanna urged the court to put a stay on its 1 September order for the time so that he could have ample time to file an appeal before the apex court against the verdict.
However, the court adjourned the hearing on the application till 8 September.
