Mangaluru: On May 13, the JD(S) will form the Government and H. D. Kumaraswamy will become the Chief Minister, according to the Former Prime Minister and head of the Janata Dal (Secular).
“The secular structure built on the foundation of the Constitution is being demolished, and the current government is being run by MLAs who have been removed from office. However, there will be a noticeable shift in voter turnout and vote share among the secular parties in this election. I compared voter behaviour in 2018 and discovered a clear change in direction that will oppose divisive forces and restore secular government in the state,” he claimed.
He claimed that in the past, we had never asked any party to truck with us, but that the “other parties” had requested our assistance and we had given it to them for moral reasons solely in order to uphold democracy in the Karnataka assembly. But this time such things will not be seen, JD (S) will get a better mandate, he added.
Deve Gowda said, “JD (S) is a party that has championed the social justice diaspora, which has been accepted as a norm by the governments that have ruled,” in reference to the removal of Muslim reservations from the 4B notification. The resolution of Idgah Maidan, the Valmiki Samaja reservation, the Muslim reservation under 4B notification, and the 33 percent female representation in the Assembly and Parliament. Where are you, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in terms of your support for women’s reservations?, he questioned.
Putting social justice into practice is quite another thing from making fiery speeches and slogans, and none of the governments in the recent years have been able to inspire people to act on their rhetoric, he said.
The Prime Minister is a big man in this country, and I do not want to lower his or his office’s esteem, he said and thus Deve Gowda simply replied with a quirky smile, “I have no intention to get into a debate with forces that think our’s is a family party.”
Deve Gowda actively participated in the campaigning in Mangalore North, a constituency that is now fiercely contested. At the age of 89, it appears that he is still motivated to restore JD (S) to power.
On May Day, he honoured a group of labourers at a public meeting in Gurupura, one of the Zilla Panchayat constituents of the Mangaluru North Assembly constituency, and he supported Moideen Bava, the party’s MLA candidate.
Just one day before the deadline for nominations, Moideen Bava joined the JD (S) after the Congress party refused to give him a ticket to run. In 2018, he had a face off against Bharat Shetty for the Assembly seat he had won in 2013. Deve Gowda has chosen to campaign for his party’s candidates in only one of the Karnataka coastal constituencies.
‘Kumaraswamy waived farmers’ loans, Bawa developed Mangalore North’
“When Kumaraswamy was the Chief Minister, the loans of farmers of the state were waived off. Development works were done in Mangalore North constituency during the tenure of Former MLA Moideen Bawa. Congress party leaders cheated him and saw that he was denied ticket. We encouraged him and gave him the ticket from JD (S). This time for the development and sacrifices made by Bawa. Voters will hold his hands,” said Former Prime Minister Deve Gowda said at a press conference.
“During the JDS government, women got self-reliance, farmers got a comfortable life as loans were waived, people lived in peace and tranquility in the state. Bawa is at number three. His is the symbol of Annapurneswari carrying a paddy. I have time till 5.00 pm on May 10, I am begging with folded hands. People have faith in Bawa and they will vote and make him win,” he said.
In the press conference, JD (S) candidates from Mangalore North Constituency Moideen Bawa, Dr. Amarashree, Sumati Hegde, Akshit Suvarna of Yuva Janata Dal, District President M. B. Sadashiva, Vidhan Parishad Member B.M. Farooq and others were present.