JD(S) leaders to tour State from Jan1

List of candidates for Lok Sabha elections to be ready by January 15

Janata Dal (Secular) leaders will embark on statewide tours from January 1 for strengthening the party cadre and obtaining feedback on selection of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections.

Briefing reporters, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly H D Kumaraswamy, on Tuesday, said the JD(S) will form three to four teams to tour the State and strengthen the party across all the 28 parliamentary constituencies. The teams will also submit reports on candidates found suitable for individual constituencies. Based on the feedback, the party will finalise the candidates for the Lok Sabha polls.

Kumaraswamy said that subsequent to the party office-bearers’ meeting and the meet with the minority intellects, held recently, JD(S) has received several suggestions on the road map towards the Lok Sabha polls.

List by Jan 15

He said that from December 25, apart from himself, national president H D Deve Gowda, state president A Krishnappa and other prominent leaders will have a detailed discussion on each of the parliamentary segments and prepare a list of eligible candidates by January 15.

While Kumaraswamy said he would not approach Pramoda Devi, the wife of late Srikantadatta Wadiyar seeking her to contest from Mysore, sources in the JD(S) told Deccan Herald that the party is certain to approach her in the coming days. “It is true that we had approached Srikantadatta Wadiyar  to contest the LS elections from Mysore. But, I don’t want to play politics at this juncture,” he said.

Kumarswamy questioned on what moral grounds were the two national parties and their leaders indulging in talks of corruption.

He said that if the ‘voters were intelligent’  then they would see through the arguments made by both Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi on the issue of corruption. A sarcastic Kumarswamy noted that while the Congress was ‘waiting at the doors’ of the recently convicted RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav for a pre-poll alliance for the upcoming elections, the BJP was all set to welcome the same people (Yeddyurappa) who are the prime reason for corruption in the State during the previous regime.