Gowda slams those trying to write his political epitaph

JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda on Friday said his dignity has been impacted due to his and party's rout in the Lok Sabha polls and hit out at those trying to write his political epitaph, asserting he would "rise from the dust."

Gowda, a former prime minister, and his grandson Nikhil lost in a big way in the recent Lok Sabha election, which saw the BJP sweep the polls winning 25 out of 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka. The only face saver for the JD(S) was Gowda's another grandson Prajwal Revanna, who won from Hassan, a seat Gowda had held.

The Congress, an ally of JD(S) in the government, was equally brutally hit as it could win only one seat from Bengaluru rural constituency.

"On a personal front, my dignity has been impacted. I will reorganise the party," Gowda vowed while addressing the JD(S) leaders who won in the recent urban local body elections. He, however, said the party's defeat was for a good.

"In a way, I am proud of my defeat. It will help me understand the areas where we suffered the blows and how to address them," Gowda told the workers.

The JD(S) patriarch slammed his critics who said his days of electoral politics were over following his defeat. BJP national general secretary and Karnataka in-charge P Muralidhar Rao had Wednesday mocked Deve Gowda, saying people sent him packing in the election.

"They say that Gowda has lost the election and will sit at home. No! Mark my words today. I have the ability and moral strength to rise from the dust.

I am not the one to be scared of anyone," Gowda said.

In a bid to shed the image of 'party of Vokkaligas', Gowda said the onus to save JD(S) lies on farmers irrespective of which community they belonged to whether Lingayat, Vokkaliga, Kuruba or anyone else.

He appealed to his party workers to be sincere to the party and never cheat.

"Whoever is there in this party, whether a Vokkaliga, Lingayat, Kuruba or whoever it may be, be honest.

Don't cheat. I trust all those who have won. Only those should stay who are committed to the party," Gowda said.

While Gowda lost to BJP's Basavaraj in Tumkur, his another grandson and chief minister H D Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil was defeated from Mandya by BJP backed independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh, a film actress and widow of actor-turned-politician Ambareesh.