Bengaluru: Following directives from the All India Congress Committee (AICC), the Congress party is set to organise a mega convention in Hassan, the political bastion of former Prime Minister and Janata Dal Secular (JDS) national president H.D. Devegowda, scheduled for Thursday, December 5.
The convention aims to address and dispel what the Congress describes as false propaganda against their government by Opposition parties, namely the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal Secular. However, according to political sources cited by Deccan Chronicle, there's an underlying strategy by Congress to reclaim ground lost to JDS in this region.
Deputy Chief Minister and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president D.K. Shivakumar, speaking to reporters on Sunday, emphasised that the convention in Hassan is designed to counteract the misleading narratives spread by the BJP and JDS about the ruling Congress government in Karnataka. He added that the event has garnered support from various organizations, with comprehensive arrangements in place for its success.
Shivakumar stated, “Our motto is to get back what we lost.” He highlighted Congress's performance in Hassan, noting, "In the 2023 Assembly elections, Congress secured only one seat in the district, but in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, our candidate, Shreyas Patel, was supported by Hassan's electorate, leading to his victory over Prajwal Revanna of JDS, who is Devegowda's grandson."
The move to host this convention in Hassan is seen as an attempt by Congress to leverage the current dissatisfaction towards JDS, especially after their significant loss in the May 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Hassan has traditionally been dominated by the Devegowda family; H.D. Devegowda himself represented the Hassan Lok Sabha seat in multiple terms, including 1991, 1998, and from 2004 to 2019. Moreover, JDS leader H.D. Revanna, Devegowda's son, is the MLA for the Holenarsipura Assembly seat, and his son Suraj serves as an MLC from Hassan.
