BENGALURU: As the NDA candidate for the July 18 presidential polls, Droupadi Murmu, is scheduled to visit Bengaluru on Sunday as part of her campaign, speculation is rife whether she will call on former prime minister and JDS patriarch HD Deve Gowda.
Sources said Murmu’s schedule is packed as she will be busy attending the BJP legislators’ and MPs’ meeting. If she finds time and Gowda gives her an appointment, she may meet him. Otherwise, she will speak to him over phone as a courtesy as he has already extended his moral support to her, the sources added.
Gowda has assigned the job of addressing the issue of presidential polls to his son and senior JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy, who will take a final decision on extending the party’s support to Murmu.
Soon after being chosen a candidate, Murmu spoke to Gowda over phone and he reportedly extended his moral support.
When she sought an appointment to meet him during her visit to Bengaluru, he is said to have told her it is not necessary. He also reportedly told Murmu that her candidature is suitable and non-controversial.
In fact, when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banereji called a meeting of non-NDA parties in New Delhi on June 15, both Gowda and Kumaraswamy attended and promised to support the candidate backed by opposition parties.
But things started changing after BJP declared Murmu as its candidate against combined opposition nominee Yashwant Sinha. Sinha, who was in Bengaluru recently, attended the Congress Legislature Party meeting and got the support of party MLAs. But he returned to New Delhi without meeting Gowda.
Sinha was not on good terms with Gowda for a long time which was why the meeting did not materialise. This despite Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao, who shares a good relationship with Gowda, backing Sinha to the hilt, the sources said.