The JD(S) leader said he was in politics only to serve the poor and downtrodden.
Former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy made emotional statements and ended up in tears Wednesday, while campaigning in Mandya ahead of the upcoming byelections on December 5.
The Janata Dal (Secular) leader broke down while addressing voters in Kikkeri village in Mandya district as he said, “The same people of Mandya who insisted I field my son (Nikhil Kumaraswamy) from this constituency in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections deserted me. This has hurt me a lot.”
He added, “Holding the position of a chief minister is nothing for me. All I crave is your love and affection. I have chosen politics only to serve the poor and the downtrodden,” and burst into tears.
#WATCH JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy breaks down, in Mandya. Says “…I don’t need politics, don’t want CM post.I just want your love.I don’t know why my son lost.I didn’t want him to contest from Mandya but my own people from Mandya wanted him but didn’t support him which hurt me” pic.twitter.com/reyhIsttPN
— ANI (@ANI) November 27, 2019
It can be recalled that Kumaraswamy’s son and JD(S) supremo H D Devegowda’s grandson Nikhil Kumaraswamy was defeated by BJP-supported independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh by a margin of 1,25,876 votes in the Lok Sabha elections held earlier this year.
On Wednesday, Kumaraswamy held campaigns across villages in Mandya district and other areas falling under the KR Pete constituency before addressing voters on behalf of the JD(S) candidate B L Devaraj.
.@JanataDal_S leader @hd_kumaraswamy campaigns for #KRPete candidate B L Devaraj in Santhebachahalli village, ahead of the #KarnatakaBypolls scheduled to be held on December 5. @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/Uvwv3Yz2it
— Express Bengaluru (@IEBengaluru) November 27, 2019
During his address, Kumaraswamy reiterated that he was “compelled” to take up the role of the chief minister as the JD(S)-Congress coalition government took charge after the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections.
“Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi compelled me to become the chief minister as the elections threw up a hung Assembly in the state. Right from day one, throughout the 14-month tenure, I neither worked peacefully nor had proper sleep,” he said, wiping tears continuously with his handkerchief.
This is not the first time the JD(S) leader has shed tears during a public address. In July 2018, he had struck an emotional note saying he was “not happy” with the then JD(S)-Congress coalition and was swallowing the pain “like Vishakantha”.
The KR Pete legislative Assembly seat, among 16 others, was left vacant after the-then speaker K R Ramesh Kumar disqualified 17 Congress-JD(S) legislators citing anti-defection laws.
READ| Bypolls to 15 seats in Karnataka: All you need to know
While BJP has fielded disqualified MLA K C Narayana Gowda from the same seat, JD(S) candidate B L Devaraj, and Congress candidate KB Chandrashekar are also in the fray.
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Narayana Gowda, then in JD(S), had won this seat with a margin of 17,119 in the 2018 Assembly elections. The JD(S) has held this seat since 2013, before which Congress represented the constituency in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly.
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