BENGALURU: A day after former chief minister and Bangalore North LS member DV Sadananda Gowda bid adieu to electoral politics, former chief minister B S Yediyurappa on Thursday issued a statement, saying Gowda had taken the decision following instructions from the BJP high command to not contest polls anymore.
“High command leaders told him (Sadananda Gowda) not to contest polls, following which he took a decision. But he will be active in the party organization,” Yediyurappa told reporters when asked whether Gowda took the decision as the party is unlikely to field him in the 2024 polls.
Replying to this, Gowda clarified that he took the decision on his own. “I wanted to quit electoral politics after 25 years, during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, but the high command insisted that I contest the polls,” he stated. He maintained that he took the decision in the interest of the party, and paved the way for a new face to contest the 2024 polls.
“The party gave me everything, I should not be too selfish. What remains is how I can contribute to the party,” he remarked, adding that his decision six months before the elections will help the new contender. Meanwhile, former DyCM Dr C N Ashwath Narayan said Sadananda Gowda had expressed his wish to quit electoral politics many times and had now made the decision.
In Hassan on Wednesday, Gowda had announced his decision, saying he was content with the positions given by the party in his 30-year political career, as deputy leader of the opposition in the assembly, party state chief, chief minister, MP, and central minister. “I am a beneficiary next only to B S Yediyurappa,” he had stated.
It may be recalled that when Gowda went to New Delhi, following an invitation by national president JP Nadda on October 25, the latter was too busy to give him an audience. Instead, he had met Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who is in election charge of Karnataka.