Former Minister S.R. Mahesh met party colleague G.T. Deve Gowda ahead of the party’s preparations for the ensuing elections to the gram panchayats.
Mr. Gowda, also a former Minister representing Chamundeshwari Assembly constituency as JD(S) MLA, had distanced himself from the party leadership ever since the collapse of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government.
Mr. Mahesh met Mr. Gowda at the Jaladarshini Guest House after the latter skipped a meeting convened by the party to discuss the strategies for the coming gram panchayat elections.
Speaking to reporters after meeting Mr. Gowda, Mr. Mahesh expressed confidence that the former will actively take part in the party activities in the coming days.
“He is our leader. There is nothing special about meeting him. He is in our party. He was not active for the last few days. He will actively participate in the party activities in the coming days,” Mr. Mahesh said.
The meeting between the two senior JD(S) leaders of Mysuru came after Mr. Gowda refused to take up the responsibility of the party’s campaign for the gram panchayat elections in any Assembly constituency in Mysuru.
Mr. Gowda, who had been entrusted with the responsibility of the party’s campaign in Hunsur, had said there was no need for him to participate in the campaign as the gram panchayat elections were not fought on party symbols.
