CHANNAPATNA : Public campaigning for the November 13 bypolls to Channapatna Assembly constituency came to an end at 5.30 pm on Monday. A Vokkaliga bastion, Channapatna is witnessing a fierce electoral battle between the NDA’s Nikhil Kumaraswamy and Congress’ CP Yogeshwara.
On Monday, Congress leaders attacked JDS patriarch and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, saying that the latter ignored promising Vokkaliga leaders and groomed only his family members.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah claimed that he has warned Chamundeshwari MLA G T Devegowda, saying that he, too, would be snubbed by the Gowda family. It may be noted here that the absence of GT Deve Gowda, JDS core committee chief, throughout the NDA campaign in the run-up to the bypolls was conspicuous.
“Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy did not allow even one Vokkaliga leader outside their family to grow. They oppose me because I am from the backward class. That’s okay. However, YK Ramaiah, Nagegowda, Bachegowda, Varade Gowda, Puttanna, Chaluvarayaswamy, Balakrishna, Bhyregowda, KR Pete Chandrashekhar, and BL Shankar are all being snubbed,” Siddaramaiah said, adding that Gowda does not want “intelligent” Vokkaligas to become leaders.
State Congress chief and DyCM DK Shivakumar said that he went to jail because of the BJP and suffered a lot because of the conspiracy hatched by Union Minister and state JDS president HD Kumaraswamy. “If Kumaranna spares a large stretch of land that he owns in Bidadi and Ketaganahalli, I myself will pay double the market price for them and set up factories there. The sons (Shivakumar and DK Suresh) of Dodda Alahalli Kempegowda have donated 25 acres of land to set up schools. You (Kumaraswamy) have not helped anyone,” Shivakumar hit out at Kumaraswamy.
Hitting out at Siddaramaiah, JDS supremo HD Deve Gowda said that it was he who made the former the Finance Minister of the state. He alleged that Siddarmaiah was criticising Modi even as the latter gave adequate funds to Karnataka.
But Siddaramaiah claimed that if not for him and the late RL Jalappa, Gowda would not have become the CM in 1994. “Ramakrishna Hegde would have become the CM. As Gowda had brought down the SR Bommai government, he, too, was not ready to accept the former. But myself and MP Prakash managed to convince him,” the CM added.