Youth will get 50% tickets in elections: Deve Gowda

JD(S) National President H D Deve Gowda has stated that there be no doubt that he would fight for justice till he dies.

Speaking at the valedictory programme of the two-day regional workshop for JD(S) workers here on Sunday, he said, "as long as Deve Gowda is alive, he is ready to fight for any cause the local leaders of the party decides."

He said, currently it is very difficult for the party to come back to power, as its strength in the majority of the regions in Karnataka is poor. But, the party will not stop from fighting, and one day it will come back to power in State, as it did after 1989 defeat, where JD(S) was relegated to only two seats, he added.

Gowda asked his party workers to fight against the misinformation that is being circulated in social media.

“One such poisonous seed was sowed earlier with regard to South-Western Railway headquarters being shifted from Hubballi to Bengaluru. And the party is still unable to digest the fruit of this poisonous seed,” he said, and added that it was not he who had decided to shift the headquarters from Hubballi to Bengaluru, but recommendations of six committees that resulted in his Cabinet taking a decision in this regard.

People have termed our party as anti-North Karnataka forgetting the fact that it was during his tenure as prime minister that Upper Krishna Project received Rs 18,000 crore.

Women’s reservation

JD(S) supremo said, he is ready to lead a delegation of women to Delhi’s Jantar Mantar to draw the attention of Union government to provide 33% reservation for women. “I am in touch with Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in this regard, and will soon lead more than 4,500 women to Delhi,” he said.

He also said, 50% of party tickets in the ensuing elections will be reserved for youth. “They have the power and conviction to take the struggle further,” he said.

Party leaders Basavaraj Horatti, YSV Datta, N H Konaraddi, Rajanna Koravi, and others were present on the occasion.