Gowda to launch Statewide tour to rejuvenate JD(S)

Even as the BJP is smarting from yet another scandal, the Opposition Janata Dal (Secular) is preparing itself for a political rejuvenation.

Party supremo H D Deve Gowda and his son and State JD(S) president, H D Kumaraswamy have decided to tour the entire State for two  months to drum up support for their party “to win the next Assembly elections”.

“People may wonder why I am still obsessed with politics at this age. I’m now determined... We have to win the next elections at any cost,” Gowda said on Thursday.

He urged his partymen to make all-out efforts to emerge victorious in the next State polls “keeping only people’s interest in mind”. 

Addressing the youth wing of the JD(S) in Bangalore, Gowda said he had no aspiration to become the chief minister again. “The situation in the State is worsening. The political atmosphere is so uncertain that elections may come upon us at any point. In the coming months, we have to work hard in all the districts,” he said. 

He said Kumaraswamy attracted crowds during campaigns, but that wasn’t converting into votes. “There is no unity in the party. We have been pulling down each other. This should stop if we are serious about winning elections,” he said.

Gowda said he would start the statewide tour on Friday after offering pooja at the Gavigangadareshwara temple in Bangalore along with his son.

The father-son duo and other senior party leaders will cover 10 districts - Bangalore, Chamarajnagar, Mysore, Kodagu, Chikmagalur, Udupi, Shimoga, Davanagere, Chitradurga and Tumkur - in the first phase.

The remaining 20 districts will be covered in the second and third phases. On the issue of three former BJP ministers being caught watching a porn movie in the Assembly, Gowda said the BJP had sullied the sanctity of the House.