Mysuru: Janata Dal (S) supremo, H D Deve Gowda has personally taken responsibility for his party's performance in Mysuru and Chamarajanagar in the run-up to the 2018 assembly poll and intends to stay in the districts to make sure it has a winning chance in the election.
Mr Gowda, who offered prayers and meditated for a few minutes at the Srikanteswara temple in Nanjangud before a party workers convention in the town on Thursday, recalled that during the Nanjangud by- elections, the Congress had poached the JD(S) candidate. "We knew that if we fielded a candidate it would help the BJP. But despite our generosity to the Congress we have seen the way it has behaved with us. This time I have taken the responsibility of Mysuru and Chamarajnagar and will stay here to ensure the party comes to power," he said.
Declaring that no one could finish the JD(S), he recalled, "When (now Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah and others left our party, I fought single- handedly. God has his own plans and they will be revealed in future. We will win at least 115 seats and come to power independently."
Hitting out more at the Chief Minister, he added, "When we wanted to give representation to leaders from all communities, it was this same Siddaramaiah, who was against it. He prevented us from inducting Mr V Srivinasprasad and the late Rajashekarmurthy into the party. And now what moral right does he have to speak about social justice?"
Mr Gowda later visited Chamundeswari constituency MLA, G T Devegowda, who has been hospitalised with fever.
