Former Congress leader C M Ibrahim who recently joined JD(S), took charge as the party's state president on Sunday.
At an event in the city, Ibrahim assumed charge of the post in the presence of JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda and Legislature Party leader H D Kumaraswamy. The senior leader quit the Congress party recently after he was miffed over not being made the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council.
Ibrahim replaces Sakaleshpur MLA H K Kumaraswamy as the state president. Kumaraswamy meanwhile, has been appointed as the president of the JD(S) National Parliamentary Board.
Speaking on the occasion, Deve Gowda called Ibrahim an able and senior leader who would strengthen the party. “A leader from the minority community has been made the state president. This disproves propaganda that the party gives space only for its family members and that it has only Vokkaliga leaders. However, I have always recognised leadership across communities,” he said.
He expressed optimism that the party would achieve its goal of 123 seats in the upcoming Assembly elections.
Meanwhile, after taking charge, Ibrahim vowed that H D Kumaraswamy would become the next Chief Minister of Karnataka. He would begin his efforts to strengthen the party from May 4, Ibrahim added. The first meeting will take place in Basavana Bagewadi, he said.
H K Kumaraswamy stressed that a new phase would begin in JD(S) soon. “Even our party is representative of AHINDA. But our only weakness is that we fall prey to cheap publicity by other parties,” he said.
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