BENGALURU: Seeking to revive and strengthen the JDS ahead of the 2028 Assembly elections, Union Minister and party leader H D Kumaraswamy on Saturday stepped up efforts to consolidate the party’s base in Karnataka, targeting the Congress government over alleged governance failures while inducting leaders from other parties into the regional outfit.
Kumaraswamy, who addressed party workers and supporters at separate programmes in Bengaluru, sought to position the JDS as an alternative to the Congress, raising issues ranging from civic infrastructure and price rise to farmers’ distress, unemployment and alleged financial mismanagement.
As part of the party-building exercise, more than 20 prominent Congress leaders from the Kunigal Assembly constituency joined the JDS in the presence of Kumaraswamy and former minister D Nagarajaiah.
In Pulakeshinagar, Irfan, who had served as president of the Congress minority wing, joined the JDS during a protest programme led by former MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy.
Addressing a JDS protest in Pulakeshinagar against the alleged failure to provide basic amenities, Kumaraswamy accused the Congress government of neglecting drinking water, drainage and other infrastructure requirements in the constituency.
He alleged that more than Rs 250 crore had been spent in the name of development works in the area without providing adequate basic facilities. He also criticised the government over increases in milk, curd and bus fares, accusing it of shifting the financial burden on ordinary people instead of improving public services.
The government had increased milk prices by Rs 10 to Rs 12 per litre, but the additional amount was not necessarily reaching farmers, he alleged.
The increase was making it difficult for poorer families to afford milk and curd, he said. He also criticised the 45% hike in BMTC bus fares and questioned the government for increasing fares and pass prices despite providing free bus travel to women.
Kumaraswamy alleged that restrictions on public gatherings were being used to prevent people from protesting against the government’s failures. Praising Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy for maintaining relations with people across communities, he called for unity to bring in a government committed to the interests of the poor and working classes.