Janata Dal (Secular) leader and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy created a flutter in political circles on Thursday when he did not rule himself out from contesting the next Assembly election from Chamundeshwari constituency.
The issue came up during an interaction with party workers in Mysuru and a section of them aired apprehensions about the party’s candidate from Chamundeshwari in the next election.
The question is tormenting JD(S) workers as the incumbent MLA, G.T. Deve Gowda, who was elected on a JD(S) ticket and trounced the former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of the Congress in 2018, has been shown the door from the party. Though Mr. Gowda is hobnobbing with political leaders of the BJP as well, he has indicated an inclination to join the Congress despite his rivalry with Mr. Siddaramaiah.
The exit of Mr. Gowda will be a major setback for the JD(S), given his strong support base from the Vokkaliga community which backed him to the hilt against Mr. Siddaramaiah who was trounced by a margin of nearly 36,000 votes.
Hence JD(S) workers were keen to fill the leadership vacuum and posed the question to Mr. Kumaraswamy who said in such a situation he himself would enter the fray from Chamundeshwari constituency.