Gowda celebrates birthday in Shivakumar’s company

BENGALURU: Wary of a large gathering, JDS patriarch HD Deve Gowda had, a couple of days ago, appealed to his supporters not to visit his home to wish him on his birthday. On Monday, they obliged. Instead, they celebrated the former prime minister’s 88th birthday at the party office, though social distancing went for a toss. While an 88-kg cake was cut at the party office, Gowda himself had a relatively quieter celebration at home where one of the visitors was DK Shivakumar. 

Though the KPCC president-designate wanted to return quickly after wishing Gowda with a big bouquet, he could not refuse the former prime minister’s request to have lunch with him. South Indian delicacies were served on plantain leaves as the political heavyweights ate sitting side by side.BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan also visited Gowda. 

Shivakumar had defeated Gowda in 1989 and his son HD Kumaraswamy in 1999 assembly elections. However, Shivakumar played an important role in stitching together a Congress-JDS coalition to form the state government in 2018, making Kumaraswamy the chief minister. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, former CM Siddaramiah and other leaders wished Gowda on social media. 

In an open letter, Gowda appealed to his supporters to help the needy, instead of spending money on bouquets to wish him. There was a big gathering at the JDS office where a mega cake with an image of Gowda was cut by party functionaries, including legislators. JDS Bengaluru unit president Prakash said, “As it is Gowda’s 88th birthday, we decided to cut a cake weighing 88 kg. This apart, we also conducted a blood donation event where 88 party workers donated blood.”