Ex-PM Deve Gowda campaigns for grandson, says Nikhil Kumaraswamy will end ‘bad politics’ in Karnataka

“Due to your blessings, I don’t know whether I will live to be 100. But I will live to see my grandson develop the constituency,” the 91-year old said at his maiden campaign event for the bypolls.

Gowda said that if elected, Kumaraswamy would put an end to the “bad politics” in Karnataka. “In my six-decade-long political career, I have not witnessed such bad politics before. I am requesting the youth, mothers and seniors to ensure that such bad politics should not remain in the state,” he said, attacking the ruling Congress.

These words did not stem from “jealousy, vengeance or come with an objective to make personal attacks”, Gowda said, adding that the Government did not even know how to respect the words of the Leader of the Opposition. “It is a tragedy,” he said.

Noting that he had one and a half years left in his tenure as a Rajya Sabha member, Gowda assured that he would work with the 17 NDA MPs from the state to ensure water security for Bengaluru and surrounding regions. “Tamils have cheated us, my struggles will be to ensure drinking water to Bengaluru,” he said, hitting out at the neighbouring state over the Cauvery water dispute.

Gowda is scheduled to address four campaign events.

Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka took a dig at Yogeshwar for ditching the BJP-JD(S) coalition at the last moment. The BJP leader said he had gone to Delhi to seek a ticket for Yogeshwar as he was keen to contest the polls.

Union minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy had asked Yogeshwar to be a candidate of his party but the latter insisted on a BJP ticket, Ashoka said. He added that even though the coalition partners were okay with the demand, the former minister had already decided to quit the NDA.

Nikhil Kumaraswamy, who is contesting his third election, attacked Congress leaders for criticising him after he shed tears at a campaign event. “Many mock my tears, but only those with humanity and emotions shed tears. The hard-hearted don’t. I have endured a lot,” he said.

Nikhil, son of H D Kumaraswamy, unsuccessfully contested his maiden election in 2019, losing the Lok Sabha election in Mandya to independent candidate Sumalatha. In the 2023 Assembly polls, he was defeated by the Congress’s Iqbal Hussain in the Ramanagara constituency.