Former Minister G.T. Deve Gowda, who is nursing a grouse against the JD(S) leadership, turned up for the mayoral polls on Saturday and cast his vote in favour of Tasneem, the party’s candidate for the post of Mayor.
The MLA has been swearing by “political neutrality” and staying away from functions and programmes organised by the party. Speaking to reporters, Mr. Gowda said he had stayed away from the process of candidate selection, but had decided to cast his vote. He said party leader S.R. Mahesh had called him over phone and asked him to participate in the election.
Mr. Gowda, who is suspected to be resenting Mr. Mahesh’s proximity to H.D. Kumaraswamy and H.D. Deve Gowda, remarked, rather sarcastically, that Mr. Mahesh was the senior leader of the party in Mysuru. “There is no senior or junior in politics. He is our senior leader in Mysuru,” he said.
Mr. Mahesh, in response, said Mr. Gowda’s suggestions had been taken into consideration while finalising the party’s candidate. “In his absence, I took the lead in talks with the Congress over the alliance,” he said, before expressing hope that Mr. Gowda would become active in the party soon.
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