JD(S) K’taka president quits, blames Congress for Tumkuru loss

Bengaluru: Karnataka JD(S) president AH Vishwanath quit the post on Tuesday amid frantic attempts to salvage the party’s coalition with the Congress that has come under new strain after their poor show in the elections.
“I am stepping down, owning moral responsibility for the party’s defeat in the Lok Sabha polls and also for not being able to build the party the way I wanted to,” said Vishwanath.
After sending his resignation to JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda, Vishwanath (69) hit out at Congress — especially former CM Siddaramaiah — and claimed Gowda lost the Lok Sabha contest in Tumakuru because its leaders didn’t provide necessary support. His resignation had not been accepted till late in the night. At the JD(S) legislature party meeting, Gowdaurged him to reconsider his decision.
Vishwanath’s decision might give the BJP more fuel to portray the coalition partners as unstable, but it is unlikely to have a huge impact within JD(S) as all important decisions are taken by Gowda and his CM son HD Kumaraswamy.
Also, Vishwanath, who has been facing health problems, is at the fag-end of his political career. “His resignation has more to do with his neglect in the party than the Lok Sabha election results. He was upset at being sidelined,” said a JD(S) MLA.