Kumaraswamy evinces interest in JDS ticket for his political foe Manju
BENGALURU: With his party MLA in Arkalgudu Assembly seat (Hassan) A.T. Ramaswamy distancing himself from the party activities, Janata Dal Secular (JDS) leader and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy cleared the candidature of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and former minister A. Manju as JDS nominee for the Arkalgudu Assembly seat in the forthcoming election.
Manju has represented Arkalgudu Assembly seat thrice as a Congress nominee and was a Minister in Siddaramaiah government. However, it is not clear whether Manju would oblige to the offer of JDS.
Manju told Deccan Chronicle on Sunday that he has learnt that his candidature has been cleared by the JDS and “I will be taking a suitable decision on the JDS offer in the days to come.”
A bitter critic of JDS, Manju was in Congress party for many years and took on JDS in Hassan in its stronghold district. Hassan is the native place of JDS supremo and former Prime Minister H.D. Devegowda.
When the JDS and Congress party were in alliance in the State in 2018-19, Manju was unhappy with the Congress party over its decision to support JDS nominee Prajwal Revanna, grandson of H.D. Devegowda, in the 2019 Hassan parliamentary election.
To take on JDS in Hassan, Manju quit the Congress party and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Though Manju was defeated in the election, he did not stop there and took his fight against JDS to the Court alleging false details furnished by JDS nominee Prajwal at the time of filing of nomination and sought his disqualification as Hassan MP. The matter is pending in the Court.
When he was the Hassan district in charge (2013-2018), Manju designed a plan to keep Bhavani, wife of JDS MLA H.D. Revanna, away from occupying the post of Hassan Zilla Panchayat and succeeded in his plan. On several occasions, Manju has criticized H.D. Revanna, JDS MLA, in public and in turn Revanna also shot back at him.
Sources in Hassan said, Manju was once close to H.D. Devegowda in the 1980s and Manju was denied to contest the Assembly election which made him to part ways. He joined the Congress party and turned into a political rival of H.D. Devegowda and JDS.
In the changed scenario now, Kumarswamy told reporters in Bengaluru that he has held a couple of talks with A. Manju and his elder brother and former minister H.D. Revanna might have also invited Manju to JDS and make him the party nominee for Arkalgudu Assembly seat.
