With eye on N Karnataka, HDK to take up house in Hubballi

In a bid to strengthen his party’s base in North Karnataka districts, JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy said he will set up a temporary base in Hubballi to have easier access to people of the region.

The house belongs to party MLA N H Konaraddi’s brother Sureshraddi. Kumaraswamy plans to shuttle between Bengaluru and the North Karnataka districts every 10 to 15 days in view of the next Assembly elections.

Addressing the media after chairing the party meeting with his father and party supremo H D Deve Gowda in the city, Kumaraswamy said that the primary focus of his party would be to understand the problems of farmers, especially in drought-hit districts, so that they could be highlighted during the winter session in Belagavi, scheduled to begin on November 21.

The party has asked its legislators to prepare on two major issues - Mahadayi drinking water and drought - to be raised during the 10-day session.

The party would form teams which will visit all drought-hit districts and later submit a report on the government’s handling of the problems.

He would himself tour a few districts, before taking part in the house-warming ceremony in Hubballi on November 18. On November 19 and 20, he will participate in the party’s convention in Muddebihal and Devara Hipparagi.

The convention is being organised to address the plight of Vijayapura farmers, who have suffered heavy crop damage.

As the party’s core committee has become defunct, a decision had been taken to reconstitute a 23-member core committee, headed by Deve Gowda. The party would also appoint new office bearers shortly.

Kumaraswamy said his party would not align with either the Congress or the BJP to fight the next elections, but would instead highlight the “failures” of both national parties, both at the national and state levels.