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‘Karnataka elections to be a triangular contest... JD(S) will get a working majority’: H D Deve Gowda
“Karnataka only has 28 seats in the 545-strong Lok Sabha. How do we imagine that it will give a clear picture about 2024?,” says former PM H D Deve Gowda.
At 89, Janata Dal (Secular) patriarch and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda has passed on the party baton to his son HD Kumaraswamy. That hasn’t however diminished his authority in the regional party that often holds the key to government-formation in Karnataka. Will history be rewritten or repeat itself in the southern state that’s as crucial to the BJP— the loss of power would mean losing its only toehold south of the Vindhyas — as it is to the Congress that’s in desperate search for the elixir of an electoral win? Excerpts from an interview:
You are a veteran of many electoral battles. What’s your projection for the upcoming assembly polls in Karnataka?
Today, the two national parties are on one side and a regional party like the JD(S) is on the other. The fight is triangular. Naturally, (the) star (studded) campaigns are of the BJP and the Congress. Their leaders are coming here from all over the country. From our side, I myself and (HD) Kumaraswamy besides some former (state) ministers are working very hard on what we call the Pancharatna programme which has become very popular in the last one year. Kumaraswamy has toured about 118 constituencies to explain the attractive scheme. The people who are suffering, are convinced that the programme will benefit them. That is a major development that has taken place. (The five-point scheme Kumaraswamy announced at a rally in Mysuru last month includes loan wavers for women self-help groups, medical assistance to the tune of ₹40 lakh to check medical bankruptcy, bringing govt English and Kannada-medium schools at par with private schools in all gram panchayats and setting up 30-bed hospitals with free dialysis and lab facilities in all panchayat centres).
Your party’s stronghold is on South Karnataka, in the Mysuru region with over 60 seats. How many seats will the JD(S) win?
That is wrong information spread by our political opponents (to show the JD-S as a party confined to South Karnataka). In fact, we got nine seats last time from Gulbarga and Raichur in Hyderabad-Karnataka (region) and four seats from Bijapur in Bombay-Karnataka area. In total we got 13 seats in 2018 in these areas where, this time, we are expecting more than 20-21 seats. We have worked very hard in these parts of the state for the last five years. The Krishna water dispute (between Karnatakta, Andhra and Maharashtra) is a major issue in these regions. People are happy with the way we have helped them.
How many seats are you expecting in all, including in the Mysuru region?
I got 76 seats when I became chief minister in 1994. Of course, Kumaraswamy last time got 38. This time I have personally taken the responsibility to go around in old Mysuru. I am addressing three public meetings every day. I plan to address about 40 meetings by the time the campaign comes to a close on May 8.
Can one say you’re expecting 50-60 seats across the State?
No, we will be near to formation of the government (which requires 113 seats in the 224-member assembly). That’s because Kumaraswamy’s programme is appreciated by one and all, irrespective of their caste or creed. The Muslims are backing us because the BJP has removed the reservation I gave when I was CM. The women reservation I gave in Karnataka still holds good. I also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the women’s quota in parliament, holding him to his own promise of empowering women and asking that the women’s bill be passed before 2024.
Read: Deve Gowda’s legacy holds the key in Old Mysuru battleground
You said your party will be near-to forming the government. That means the outcome could be similar to the fractured 2018 mandate when you entered into a post-electoral coalition with the Congress and Kumaraswamy became the CM.
That was different…
I mean (similar) in terms of a hung assembly…
In 2018 we didn’t at all want to form the government. But Ashok Gehlot and Ghulam Nabi Azad (then of the Congress) came to this very house of mine to persuade me to have a coalition that we eventually did. I agreed after a long process of discussions. But some Congress friends eventually ditched us. That is why the BJP is today in power.
Are you referring to Siddaramaiah?
(Laughs). You can ask this question not only to Congress leaders and their high command but also the people of Karnataka.
I am putting the question directly to Deve Gowda…
It (the answer) is an open secret…
Siddaramaiah was once with the JD(S). You made him deputy chief minister in the coalition you had with the Congress in 2004-05.
Anyway, what has happened has happened; the past is past…
What if there is a need for a coalition again? A hung verdict means the people want parties that fought each other to work together. What would be your choice in such a situation? You’ve had unseemly experiences with both the Congress and the BJP.
If such a situation arises, the party will decide.
In the past you haven’t had happy experiences sharing power with both national parties
Our Pancharatna programme is a novel idea planned by Kumaraswamy in consultation with economists to benefit the rural people. He has worked it out with the aim of getting 112-123 seats. That’ll happen on account of his hard work. There’s no if and but…
In recent times, you came in for praise by the PM (for your stance on the Kisan morcha) and also BS Yediyurappa who, in his farewell speech in the state assembly, thanked you for your advice and guidance. What does one deduce from such bonhomie?
The PM respects me and I also respect the PM. Not only Modi, I respect all former PMs including AB Vajpayee and Dr Manmohan Singh. I never hurt the feelings of senior leaders. That’s my habit. Modi and myself have got good relationship. But he hasn’t done certain things I tried to persuade him to do for my home constituency (Hassan). That’s the ground reality.
Will the upcoming assembly election be fought by local leaders on local issues or by national leaders on national issues?
The outcome here will not give any indication about the forthcoming parliament elections. Karnataka only has 28 seats in the 545-strong Lok Sabha. How do we imagine that it will give a clear picture about 2024?
I’m not asking that. I’m asking whether the Karnataka election will be fought on local or national issues?
The national parties have strong leaders coming from across India to fight one election in Karnataka. We are a regional party campaigning only with local leaders. We have no national leader.
You have been PM. You too are a national leader….
Look at my age….
You are not answering my question. The BJP never got a majority of its own here despite being a national party. Neither has the JD(S) ever got a majority of its own. Only Siddaramaiah got majority when he became the Congress CM in 2013.
Those days are over….
Which means that there will be a fractured verdict
Now so many leaders are there. There’s DK Shivakumar (Congress) and others. It wasn’t like that in 2013. Today there are various competent leaders in the Congress itself.
Read: No understanding with Congress’s DK Shivakumar ahead of Karnataka polls: Gowda
You and Shivakumar come from the same Vokkaliga community…
(Interjects) That’s a different issue, it has nothing to do with….(leaves the sentence unfinished).
There’s a feeling that there’s an understanding …
(Again interjects) No! No means no!
Let me ask fully my question.
(Interjects) No means no….
No understanding between you and Shivakumar?
Don’t unnecessarily try to scratch your head. No means no!
Okay, let’s move forward. What do you think is the main issue facing the electorate in Karnataka?
People want to trust Kumaraswamy…(That is because of) the work he has done as the CM with the BJP and the Congress support. Today the Pancharatna he has brought is appreciated by people. I think he will get working majority.
Do you think Lingayat leaders such as Jagdish Shettar who crossed over will get the Congress their community-votes considered loyal to the BJP?
That is the aim. I don’t know how much backing of Lingayats will the Congress have. There are so many Lingayat leaders in the BJP….
Efforts are underway at the national level to bring non-BJP parties on a common platform before the 2024 elections. Have you been approached by Mallikarjun Kharge or Nitish Kumar?
No…If they are all coming together, I can extend my cooperation (on being approached).
Misuse of official agencies and concomitant threats to democracy and federalism are among the issues on which the Opposition unity is sought to be predicated. Rahul Gandhi is raising some of these points.
In Rajasthan they (Congressmen) themselves are fighting. That’s why I said, if they come together, we’ll see.
Do you agree that democracy and federalism are threatened by the BJP’s strong- arm tactics?
There certainly are instances where things which have happened have been represented to the President of India with facts and figures. I wasn’t a party to that. I am only reading tn newspapers. All political parties haven’t yet come together even on that issue. There is no unanimity.
Read: Key Oppn meet likely in Bihar after Karnataka polls
Are you hopeful or not about the Opposition coming together?
The idea cannot be straightaway rejected. There is a possibility (of it happening).
If the JD(S) has the key to government formation, will Kumaraswamy demand the CM’s office?
He has full confidence in coming to power on his own strength. That question does not arise right now.
What if the question arises? Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar are open about their aspirations to be CMs.
Let them say. Ultimately, the mandate has to come from the people.
