Deve Gowda ends suspense, to contest from Tumkur
Bengaluru, Mar 23: Ending days of suspense, Janata Dal (Secular) Saturday said its National President and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda will contest the Lok Sabha poll from Tumkur.
The 85-year-old JD(S) patriarch had earlier expressed doubts about contesting the polls, saying he was thinking about his "usefulness" in the national capital.
"Former PM and JDS National president H D Deve Gowda will contest from Tumkur Parliamentary constituency as JD(S)-Congress combined candidate," JD(S) Spokesperson Ramesh Babu said in a statement.
Gowda will file his nomination on March 25, he said, adding that JD(S) and Congress leaders will be present on the occasion.
Gowda ceded the Hassan seat that he had been representing to his grandson Prajwal Revanna.
Amid doubts about Gowda contesting the polls, as he had earlier indicated he would not, there was speculation that he may contest from Bangalore North.
Though there was pressure within JD(S) for their party supremo to contest from Bangalore North, it was apprehensive about Congress' complete support there as most party's MLAs there are considered close to Gowda's bete noire Siddaramaiah.
It was feared that the MLAs may seek to take revenge for the former Chief Minister's defeat from Chamundeshwari in the 2018 assembly polls.
Interestingly, JD(S)' announcement on Gowda's constituency comes on a day when Congress' sitting Member of Parliament from Tumkur S P Muddahanumegowda Saturday said he would file his nomination on Monday as the party candidate.
Muddahanumegowda's decision goes against the seat sharing arrangement reached between the Congress and JD(S), according to which Tumkur seat has gone to the regional party.
If Muddahanumegowda contests from Tumkur as a rebel, it will add to the Congress-JD(S) coalition worries as the alliance is facing backlash at several places,including Mandya and Hassan, with party workers unhappy with the seat arrangements.
In Tumkur, there is simmering discontent within the Congress' local leadership about ceding the seat to JD(S), despite party having a sitting MP there.
For the coalition to emerge as a formidable opposition to BJP and win more number of seats, it is crucial for the Congress to transfer its votes to JD(S) and vice-versa, including Mandya.
BJP has fielded G S Basavaraj as its candidate from Tumkur.
Gowda's other son and Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil is the candidate from the JD(S) bastion of Mandya.
The Congress and JD(S), that had bitterly fought against each other ahead of May 2018 assembly polls, decided to join hands to form a coalition government as the election threw up a hung verdict.
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Congress, Raijor Dal finalise alliance; state party gets 11 seats
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Guwahati (PTI): After days of negotiation and uncertainty, the Congress and Raijor Dal finalised seat-sharing arrangements for the Assam assembly polls, and decided that the national party will leave 11 constituencies for the other one, and there will be a friendly contest in two. In a late-night development on Thursday at Jorhat, leaders of the two parties, headed by state Congress president Gaurav Gogoi and Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi, signed the agreement.
Akhil Gogoi will contest from Sivasagar, a seat he won in the last polls while still in prison on sedition charges for allegedly instigating violence during the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests.
The Congress had given the Margherita seat to the Raijor Dal. Earlier, the national party had given it to Prateek Bordoloi, who decided not to contest on a Congress ticket after his father defected to the BJP earlier this week.
The other seats to be contested by Raijor Dal are Dalgaon, Dhing, Sissiborgaon, Digboi, Bokakhat, Manas, Tezpur and Kaliabor, while friendly contests will take place between the two parties in Goalpara (East) and Gauripur.
The party has nominated a woman candidate, Gyanashree Bora, from the Mariani constituency.
The opposition alliance now comprises six parties -- Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), CPI(M), All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) and the CPI(ML).
The Congress has announced its complete list of 87 seats, the AJP in 10 seats while the CPI(M) and APHLC will contest in two seats each.
Gaurav Gogoi thanked the Raijor Dal president, his team, and everyone who worked to ensure the alliance took place.
"It is not easy for a party like Congress to give up seats, but the national leadership agreed in the interest of the state and its future," the Congress state chief said.
''After assessing the ground realities and being satisfied with our answers to the queries raised by the high command, it was agreed that the alliance takes place,” he added.
Gaurav Gogoi said that several sections of the society, particularly some renowned civil society leaders, played a prominent role in ensuring the alliance takes place in the interest of the state and its people.
He appealed to all to work for the win of all candidates put up by the alliance's six parties.
"We have many dreams and aims to create a new Assam where the development of all and not just one person and his family, is ensured," Gogoi said.
People of Assam want to be free of Himanta Biswa Sarma's ''low level of politics'' where he uses fear and threats to intimidate people so he can remain in power, he claimed.
The Raijor Dal president said that they decided to contest the elections unitedly to oust the BJP government, led by Himanta Biswa Sarma, and make Gaurav Gogoi the chief minister.
''People of Assam are dissatisfied with the BJP-RSS as they have changed the social fabric of the state, and there is a need to overthrow Sarma's undemocratic, corrupt and communal government,'' he said.
Akhil Gogoi urged the Jorhat electorate to vote for the Congress president, stating they have a ''historic opportunity to elect the state's future CM and help build a new Assam.
"Jorhat will get a CM, and the entire state will get a youth leader who has made a mark on the national arena," he said.
Raijor Dal is contesting only 13 seats in the interest of the people and the future of the state to ensure that the BJP is defeated, he said.
Akhil also apologised to those from the party who could not get a ticket.
The elections to the 126-member Assam assembly will be held on April 9. Votes will be counted on May 4.
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