Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (MS)
Bengaluru, Mar 12: Deve Gowda, chief of JD (S), sprung a surprise on Monday, March 11 by declaring that he will be in the fray for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. It is a twist in the political circles of the state as Deve Gowda had said in the past on few occasions that he is not in the fray for Lok Sabha elections of 2019.
The constituency from where Deve Gowda will contest is not yet decided. However, according to the policy adopted by the Congress in seat sharing, Deve Gowda will probably contest from Bengaluru North as he has allowed his grandson Prajwal to contest from his stronghold of Hassan.
The party workers and leaders of JD (S) of Mysuru-Kodagu, Chikkaballapur, Tumakuru and Bengaluru North are urging Gowda to contest from the respective constituencies. However, it is learnt that in the screening committee meeting of the Congress party that was chaired by K C Venugopal, general secretary of AICC and in-charge of Karnataka that took place in New Delhi on Monday, March 11, many state Congress leaders have objected to the offer of giving the Chikkaballapur, Tumakuru and Kolar seats, presently having sitting Congress MPs to JD (S).
CLP leader of Karnataka and former CM Siddaramaiah is also vehemently against offering the Mysuru constituency to JD (S) citing that there is a good chance of Congress winning from Mysuru this time. He is also urging the party to give the ticket to former minister C H Vijayshankar to contest from Mysuru-Kodagu Lok Sabha constituency.
Considering the scenario, Gowda is left with the only option of contesting from Bengaluru North. The JD (S) leaders also feel that Deve Gowda has a good chance of winning from the Bengaluru North constituency, which has a large Vokkaliga voter share, the caste to which Deve Gowda belongs.
According to the opinion given by Kupendra Reddy, MP, Deve Gowda's candidature will not only help JD (S) but also its alliance mate Congress in widening their base in Bengaluru and its surroundings.
It was thought that the entry of Deve Gowda might force sitting MP Sadananda Gowda to change his constituency for the elections this time around as Deve Gowda is a respected leader of the Vokkaliga community, which has a large voter base in the constituency. However, Sadananda Gowda has allayed all fears and confirmed that he will be contesting from Bengaluru North constituency only.
Giving clarification, Sadananda Gowda said, "I will be more than happy to contest from Bengaluru North, if the party high command gives me a ticket. I have respect for Deve Gowda but do not fear him. The contest will be thrilling if Deve Gowda contests from Bengaluru North."