Former Minister and JD(S) legislator G.T. Deve Gowda on Tuesday ended the suspense over his political future by publicly admitting that former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president D.K. Shivakumar were in talks with him over his entry into the Congress party.
Revealing this to reporters in Mysuru, Mr. Gowda said he has communicated the same to JD(S) supremo and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda over phone. The Chamundeshwari MLA said he had made it clear to the JD(S) patriarch that he could not continue to be with the JD(S) given the “insults” heaped upon him. He said he also sought the JD(S) leader’s blessings for his future political course.
During his talks with the Congress leaders, Mr G.T. Deve Gowda said he had sought party tickets for himself as well as his son Harish Gowda in the next Assembly elections. He said Mr. Siddaramaiah had agreed to allow him to seek re-election from Chamundeshwari Assembly segment if he joined the Congress fold.
Mr. Gowda said he found it very tough reject the JD(S) supremo’s request to continue in the party. “I have had a very long relationship with him in politics. He is like a father figure to me. It was very painful for me to refuse him.”
Among other things, Mr. Gowda said he had been insulted by the party leadership by projecting K.R. Nagar MLA S.R. Mahesh as the party leader in Mysuru district.
