HD Kumaraswamy may contest LS polls if Modi and Shah want him to, says ex-PM Deve Gowda
Hassan (K'taka), Jan 25: JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda on Thursday indicated that his son and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy may contest upcoming Lok Sabha polls, if Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah want him to do so.
BJP and JD(S) have ready joined hands and struck an alliance in Karnataka to fight the ruling Congress in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
"Kumaraswamy... leave aside the speculations, don't know what Modi will say. In case he says he (Kumaraswamy) has to contest parliament polls, he may contest from anywhere, he has no issues, whether it is Mandya or even Tumakuru or Chikkaballapura, he is being invited to contest from many seats," Gowda said responding to a question whether Kumaraswamy will contest Lok Sabha polls from Mandya. "It is for Modi and Shah to decide, if Kumaraswamy has to come to Delhi."
"But, according to my knowledge, no such discussions have taken place so far. There are speculations about taking Kumaraswamy to Delhi and making him Minister in the central cabinet, but no such discussions have happened before me," the former Prime Minister added.
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Asked whether his grandson and Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil Kumaraswamy will contest the Lok Sabha polls, the JD(S) supremo said, Kumaraswamy is against fielding him, and he will have to decide on it.
"About Nikhil Kumaraswamy, Kumaraswamy feels that he should not contest, but in Mandya party leaders have made an unanimous resolution demanding either Nikhil Kumaraswamy or Kumaraswamy has to contest from there, but Kumaraswamy has to give his approval to it, if he approves he (Nikil) will contest, if not no," he said.
"He (Kumaraswamy) feels that both him and his son should not be contesting, as they will have to lead the party and its campaign."
Nikhil Kumaraswamy had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha from Mandy seat against actress-turned-politician Sumalatha Ambareesh, an independent candidate supported by the BJP. He had also lost the 2023 Assembly polls from the party bastion of Ramanagara to Congress candidate H A Iqbal Hussain.
Noting that JD(S) has a sitting Member of Parliament from his home turf of Hassan, Gowda indicated that his other grandson Prajwal Revanna will seek re-election from the constituency in the Lok Sabha polls.
"There were speculations that I will contest from Hassan, many tried to create this impression that Gowda has to contest his last election from Hassan, but I said, I will not contest. I'm now 91 years, in three months, on May 18, I will complete 91. So in this constituency I will try to ensure that people support sitting MP Prajwal Revanna," he said.
Gowda said Kumaraswamy recently had a first round of meeting with state leaders of BJP like B S Yediyurappa, Basavaraj Bommai and B Y Vijayendra regarding seat sharing for the Lok Sabha polls.
"Regarding the seat sharing I will not interfere, it is left to him (Kumaraswamy). I have not discussed how many seats will be given to us (JDS) and which are those seats. There are speculations about Mandya, Kolar, Tumakuru among others (from where JDS will field candidates), but it is yet to be decided," he added.
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Businessman lured by FB friend, attacked for extortion in K'taka; 4 held
Madikeri (Karnataka) (PTI): Four people were arrested for allegedly assaulting, illegally confining and attempting to extort money from a 39-year-old businessman who was lured through a honeytrap set up on social media, police said on Monday.
The accused have been identified as Rachana, Malati, Darshan and Ravi.
Police said efforts are underway to nab the remaining suspects involved in the incident, which occurred on December 12 in Madikeri, the district headquarters of Kodagu.
According to the complaint, the victim, a resident of Maddur taluk in Mandya district, was befriended by a woman identified as Rachana through Facebook, who later sought financial assistance and received Rs 5,000 from him via PhonePe on November 28.
When he asked her to return the money, the woman allegedly asked him to travel to Mysuru or Kushalnagar, promising to meet him.
The police said the woman later called the victim to Madikeri on December 12 and took him to a house near the market area, where they spent some time and consumed alcohol in the evening.
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Later that night, citing an emergency, the woman left the house. After her departure, three men allegedly broke into the house and attacked the victim, assaulting him with a stick and the handle of a sword, causing injuries to his face, mouth, chest and leg, the FIR stated.
The complainant alleged that he was forcibly confined, stripped and a nude video of him was recorded. The accused also allegedly threatened him with a toy gun, demanding Rs 50 lakh and warning that the video would be uploaded on social media if the money was not paid.
Police said the victim was held captive and somehow managed to escape in the early hours of December 13. However, after he escaped, the accused allegedly attempted to kidnap him in an autorickshaw, an incident that was captured on CCTV cameras.
Based on his complaint at the Madikeri Town police station, a case was registered under Sections 310(2) (dacoity), 127(2) (wrongful confinement), 118(1) (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, a senior police officer said.
“Four accused, including two women, have been arrested. Efforts are on to nab two more absconding accused. Further investigation is on,” he added.
