As son looks at future, Gowda haunted by past

JD(S) Leaders have made their reluctance to hand over power to the BJP pretty obvious...

JD(S) Leaders have made their reluctance to hand over power to the BJP pretty obvious, with the latest being the party’s youth wing president who yesterday warned against any such transfer.

But party insiders say that it is former PM H D Deve Gowda’s fear that his son and Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy may find himself isolated like he once was within the Janata Dal, if he relinquishes the post.

Sources say Kumaraswamy himself is worried about the impression that may be created about his being a power clinger if he reneges on the promise to hand over the reins on October 3.

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Gowda feels his son could be pushed to the wall by his rivals once he steps down to make way for a BJP leader. His belief stems from his experience of being sidelined in the Janata Dal after stepping down as CM by the same men who rallied behind him when he was in power.

On the contrary, Kumaraswamy feels that he may “lose credibility forever” if he fails to keep his promise of handing over power to the BJP.

The CM’s confidants say he also seems confident of reinvigorating the party. However, Gowda isn’t sure that would be enough. The JD(S) president is planning to meet senior leaders of the BJP, A B Vajpayee, L K Advani and Rajnath Singh later this month.

A compromise being worked out is to have Kumaraswamy retain some sort of power even after relinquishing the post.

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