Kumaraswamy and Siddaramaiah to campaign together

(This article was originally published in The Economic Times on 16/10/2018.)

BENGALURU: Long-time political rivals Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy of JD(S) and his predecessor Siddaramaiah of the Congress will share the dais and address campaign rallies together for the success of candidates being jointly fielded by the JD(S) and Congress for the November 3 bypolls. The joint campaigns will also have party stalwarts including Congress general secretary KC Venugopal and JD(S) leader HD Deve Gowda.

Siddaramaiah was the deputy CM in the Congress-JD(S) coalition regime 13 years ago, representing the JD(S), but was thrown out of the party ahead of Kumaraswamy becoming the CM, striking a deal with the BJP. The two leaders had fallen apart ever since. Siddaramaiah currently heads the five-member JD(S)-Congress coordination committee.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi held discussions on the bypolls, among other issues, in a brief meeting with Kumaraswamy during his one-day visit to Bengaluru on Saturday.

The CM said at a media conference on Monday that leaders from both parties will work for the success of five candidates who will fight the bypolls. The JD(S) has fielded former MLAs Madhu Bangarappa and LR Shivarame Gowda from Shivamogga and Mandya Lok Sabha seats respectively while the Congress has fielded MLC VS Ugrappa from Ballari. As for assembly seats, the CM’s wife, Anitha Kumaraswamy, filed her papers as a JD(S) candidate from Ramanagara on Monday while Anand Nyamagouda, son of the late MLA Siddu Nyamagouda, is the Congress candidate from Jamkhandi.

The Congress and the JD(S) fought the May 12 state polls bitterly, and there have been clashes as well, the CM said. He appealed to the workers of ruling alliance partners to forget the past and work together for the success of the coalition’s nominees in view of the need to bring about a change at the national level.