A meeting between former Ministers G.T. Deve Gowda and S.R. Mahesh in Mysuru has sparked speculations in political circles of the former patching up with the JD(S) leadership.
Mr. Mahesh, a close confidante of former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, met Mr. Gowda at Jaladarshini Guest House in Mysuru on Sunday and extended to him an invitation to attend the Kempegowda Jayanthi celebrations scheduled to be held in K.R. Nagar on July 31.
Sources in the JD(S) were optimistic of Mr. Gowda attending the Kempegowda Jayanthi celebrations and sharing the dais with Mr. Kumaraswamy. Mr. Gowda, the JD(S) MLA representing Chamundeshwari Assembly constituency, had been nursing a grouse with the party leadership and had publicly expressed his desire to quit and join the Congress or the BJP.
The disgruntled JD(S) leader, who had opened his channels of communication with Congress leaders, including former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president D.K. Shivakumar, had earlier this week told reporters that Mr. Siddaramaiah had not invited him to the Congress. “He did not invite me to join the party. He only told me not to join the BJP,” Mr. Gowda told reporters.
Mr. Gowda had offered to join the Congress if the party fields him as well as his son Harish Gowda in the coming Assembly elections from two constituencies in Mysuru district. But, the Congress’s “one family one ticket” rule with an exemption only to family members who had five years of prior work in politics had put paid to Mr. Gowda’s hopes of joining the party. BJP leaders, however, continued to woo Mr. Gowda.
Mr. Gowda’s meeting with Mr. Mahesh, which comes in the backdrop of the disgruntled JD(S) leader’s recent remark that Mr. Siddaramaiah had not invited him to join the party, has fuelled speculation over his continuation in the JD(S). Sources in the JD(S), who are hopeful of Mr. Gowda continuing in the party, do not rule out the possibility of renominating Mr. Gowda from Chamundeshwari Assembly constituency while also considering fielding his son Mr. Harish, probably from Hunsur Assembly segment.
Mr. Mahesh’s meeting with Mr. Gowda on Sunday is understood to have the blessings of Mr. Kumaraswamy, who is looking forward to strengthening the party in Mysuru district, which is part of the Vokkaliga heartland that JD(S) is banking upon for its electoral fortunes.
Meanwhile, a statement from the office of Mr. Mahesh said he and leaders of K.R. Nagar Taluk Vokkaligara Sangha extended an invitation to Mr. Gowda to inaugurate the 513th Kempegowda Jayanthi celebrations to be held at H.D. Deve Gowda Community Hall in K.R. Nagar town on July 31.
