Janata Dal (Secular) State president H D Kumaraswamy on Monday said the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress would face stiff competition from his party in the forthcoming Assembly elections.

Giving a call to the party leaders to work in unity, he said the JD(S) would not let the BJP and the Congress win the elections easily.

Addressing party workers at a convention organised at the Town Hall here, Kumaraswamy said there was a strong, negative undercurrent against both the two parties as they had betrayed the people’s trust.

“The people of Dakshina Kannada should understand that the BJP has created a rift in society with its ideologies. The party that claims to have drastically increased the Budget size has also doubled the State’s debts. The BJP has not fulfilled any of the assurances it had given to the electorate in its poll manifesto,” he said.

Criticising the Congress for not playing an effective role as the main Opposition in Karnataka, he said the party neither raised its voice nor brought before the public the corrupt practices of the BJP leaders.

“UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, on her recent visit to Mangalore, urged her party leaders to bury their differences and highlight the rampant corruption in the BJP government. Her message only reveals that the Congress does not yet have any strategy to face the elections,” Kumaraswamy said. He said the JD(S) would release its election manifesto within 15 days.

“The manifesto will be unique and scientific. It will give priority to solving the problems faced by farmers.”

Additional funds

Kumaraswamy criticised Sonia Gandhi for demanding details of the grants sanctioned by the Centre to the State. It is the responsibility of the Union government to release funds to all the states. Sanctioning funds for Karnataka is no big deal, he told mediapersons.
“The Centre has not given any additional funds to solve drought and other problems faced by the State. If at all it has, let it provide the details,” he said.

On Congress leader S M Krishna’s re-entry into State politics, he said it would probably create more ripples in the party than do it any good.

Party leader Zameer Ahmed Khan, JD(S) State youth wing president Madhu Bangarappa, State vice-president Amarnath Shetty and others were present.

Shetty joins JD(S)

Sridevi Education Trust president A Sadananda Shetty joined the JD(S) at the party convention on Monday. Soon after, Kumaraswamy announced that Shetty would be the party candidate for the Mangalore South constituency for the coming Assembly elections.