JD(S) mega rally on February 17 will change poll scene: H D Kumaraswamy

The rally will be held at a 100 acre-ground adjacent to NITTE Meenakshi College near Yelahanka, away from the heart of the city to avoid inconvenience to people of Bengaluru.
JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy
JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy

BENGALURU: Even as BJP and Congress are rocking the Assembly poll arena with mega rallies by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP national president Amit Shah and AICC president Rahul Gandhi, the third player in the game, JD(S), is getting ready to flex its muscles with a massive rally at Yelahanka in the city on February 17, to be addressed by party patriarch H D Deve Gowda and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati.

Claiming that the rally will be the biggest that the country has ever seen, JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy said, "I have seen rallies organised by national parties with claims of a turnout of 2-3 lakh. I have seen the rallies of Modi and Rahul Gandhi and know how many really turned up for them. Our rally will have a gathering of at least 10 lakh people."

Expressing displeasure at the media for projecting JD(S) as a third contender, far behind the Congress and BJP, Kumaraswamy said, "The media will be convinced about our claims of getting absolute majority on our own strength after witnessing the mega rally." It will send a strong message to national parties, and change the poll scenario in the state, he added.

The rally will be held at a 100 acre-ground adjacent to NITTE Meenakshi College near Yelahanka, away from the heart of the city to avoid inconvenience to people of Bengaluru, Kumaraswamy said. The party will also flag off 100 LCD screen-mounted campaign vehicles on the occasion, he added.

CANDIDATES TO TAKE OATH OF LOYALTY

The first list of 140 candidates of the party will be announced at the rally. With the threat of poaching from Congress and BJP looming large in the event of the poll throwing up a hung Assembly, the candidates will be made to take an oath at the rally affirming that they will not betray their electorate and the party after the election. To a question on the utility of an alliance with the BSP in the state, Kumaraswamy said, “It is not about how many seats BSP had won in the past. It is about the margin of their defeat. The combined strength of JD(S) and BSP will prove its might in the polls. The alliance will have a big impact in national politics too. Electing a regional party to power will help in resolving many problems in the state including the Cauvery and Mahadayi disputes.”

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