BENGALURU: JDS supremo HD Deve Gowda was on Sunday invited to the inauguration of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya by a special delegation of leaders. Gowda endorsed through a post on X.
With Gowda expected to take part in the inauguration, the optics of the Vokkaliga leader figuring in the BJP pantheon is complete. Considered the most secular leader for over half a century, he has now metamorphosed into being an ally of the saffron camp. Gowda, who had memorably said he would like to be a Muslim in his next birth, may now have to keep such thoughts to himself.
His biographer Sugata Srinivasaraju said, “Gowda has a following in UP, Punjab and North East. Apart from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he will be the only other leader who has held the position to participate in the event. It will help the BJP claim that it is not just a Brahmin-Bania party.”
Gowda posted, “I was delighted to receive an invitation for the inauguration of the Lord Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The chairman of the Ram Temple Complex Development Committee Nripendra Mishra, Senior RSS leader Ram Lal and senior VHP leader Alok Kumar met me at my New Delhi residence today.’’ The optics of it are important, said analyst BS Murthy. “After SM Krishna, now the great Vokkaliga leader has joined and he is openly endorsing the association,” he added.
Old colleagues miffed
Former MLC Ramesh Babu, who spent nearly 40 years in the Janata Parivar and is now with Congress, said, “Where is his ideology and statesmanship? His real personality has been sacrificed at the altar of convenience. Some benefits have accrued to him personally as a result of this decision. But I feel a simple retirement could have given him greater honour.”
Former JDS national vice-president Shafiullah Saheb, who quit the party after its alliance with BJP, said, “I was in JDS for 25 years and have known Gowda personally. I feel saddened at the turn of events and Gowda could have been better off without the alliance with BJP. He was a guiding force for me and many others across the country, who follow the principles of Lohia, JP and secularism. It appears to me that he has not gone for this alliance with his conscience. At this age after being wedded to secular principles for years, it is surprising that he is doing this. It appears that there is some unseen pressure that made him take the decision.”
The support base for JDS has gone down from 20 per cent to just about 14 per cent and Lok Sabha polls will reveal how the party has fared.