BENGALURU: After suffering several setbacks in the recent bypolls, the JDS has now decided to focus on strengthening the party structure.
At a meeting attended by the party supremo HD Deve Gowda, former CM HD Kumaraswamy, state party president HK Kumaraswamy, deputy leader in the Assembly Bandeppa Kashempur and others at the JP Bhavan on Wednesday, the leaders decided to weed out those holding positions in the party, but have failed to deliver.
With Assembly elections about 15 months away, the party is working hard to strengthen its structure and will appoint a core committee to deal with day-to-day functioning and challenges, if any.
Party state president HK Kumaraswamy told The New Indian Express that they will appoint office-bearers at the state and district level in the coming days and added that the list of new appointees should come out in about a week's time.
The party, it may be recalled, has held a series of meetings over the last few weeks on strengthening itself to come to power on its own. A few months ago, the JDS had announced that it will target 123 seats in the next Assembly election.
The JDS, which had planned to take out a 'Janata Jaladhare', campaign for water on January 26, has now postponed the event due to the prevailing COVID situation. HK Kumaraswamy said that the party will now take a call on it some time in the first week of March, depending on the situation.
Lalita Naik is new Janata Party president
Former minister BT Lalita Naik has been appointed as the president of the Janata Party, which still bears the symbol of a 'farmer carrying the plough'. This party is largely non-operative, with Jayaprakash Bandhu as its national president.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Lalita said that her party will try to work with other parties in the coming days, since the elections are approaching.