8216;People are aware Kumaraswamy has the wherewithal to address their issues8217;

Excerpts from an interview in which Kumaraswamy discusses these strategies:

How does the JDS hope to fare after the poor showing in 2008?

I have been in preparation mode for the last one year. I have visited 150 or more constituencies; in some I have visited 100 to 125 villages. In 150 constituencies we have already identified our candidates. In the next couple of days,during discussions with H D Deve Gowda his father,we will finalise the candidates. We will hold a major rally involving at least 1,000 voters from each constituency. We will place before them our plans to address their dissatisfaction with the political system. We will come out with a manifesto within a week.

How would you assess the pre-poll mood of the people?

The mood according to me is one of demoralisation about the political system and the way elected representatives are behaving. Leaders think people will support any wrongdoing on community lines. That is not the situation. People are facing several problems,especially the farming community,youths and women. They are not expecting solutions to all their problems8230; they want simple things done and the government has not worked to their expectations.

How different is this election from 2008,held shortly after your tenure as CM?

That was the first time I was leading the JDS in an election. The election took place against the background of dissatisfaction against the JDS for not transferring power to the BJP following the coalition. Several senior leaders of my party had left8230; I had just recovered from a heart surgery. Also elections were held for the first time after delimitation. We could not prepare well. Yet we won 28 constituencies8230;

Today we are better prepared. It also comes against the backdrop of dissatisfaction with the government. The true colours of the BJP were placed before the people by the JDS. The Congress is now taking credit for our work.

I have been communicating all this to the people. My understanding is that people are aware that Kumaraswamy has the wherewithal to address problems at local level in all districts. This is my biggest asset today.

But in the recent elections to the urban local bodies,the JDS did not do well in two of its strongholds Mandya,and your own assembly constituency of Ramanagara.

I knew what the results of Ramanagara and Mandya would be. I did not campaign there. In Ramanagara,the anti-people activities of some of our local leaders had a bearing. If I had campaigned comprehensively for one day,the results would have been different. I needed to test the sentiments of the people once,so I stayed away wilfully. Now there is a feeling in the constituency that they have sent out a message that I am on a weak wicket,and they are regretting it. They are now telling me,you need not campaign for the assembly elections. They are telling me to go campaign across the state,and that they will guarantee my victory. My ties with Ramanagara are like that of mother and child; they cannot be broken.

Do you plan an alliance with the BSR Congress of Bellarys B Sriramulu a former BJP minister and aide of G Janardhana Reddy for the decisive ST votes in some constituencies?

There is no such move from our party. Sriramulu has met me,that is true. They want an alliance. We would have to discuss the alliance in our party before arriving at a decision. We cannot arrogantly turn away an offer. That would be disrespectful.

Will the central notification of the award of the Cauvery water tribunal be a campaign issue?

It is one of the most prominent issues. We will continue the fight for a higher water share for Karnataka when the special leave petition against the final tribunal award is pressed8230; We are not using this issue politically to win votes. It is for the protection of the state that people are being made aware.

Has the emergence of Yeddyurappas KJP restricted the JDS to the Vokkaliga belt in south Karnataka?

The reality is that the KJP cannot win seats. They can only spoil,in some constituencies,the fortunes of other parties by getting 5,000 to 8,000 votes. The caste composition will not work out the way they have imagined it. We will win seats in north Karnataka that will be unimaginable for any poll pundit 30 to 35. This is because more than the caste or cash factor,our party addresses the issue of livelihood.

Theer is a feeling in the Congress that in the event of a hung assembly,the BJP and the JDS will come together once again. Will they?

The Congress is under the impression that they will win 130 seats. If they have that confidence,why are they worried about a BJP-JDS alliance? This is where the fun begins. They are sending out a message of a BJP-JDS alliance because they want to attract the minority vote. They are not talking about what they have done for Muslims,but are seeking negative votes8230; The KJP has predicted a Congress-KJP coalition; no Congress leader has countered this. I hope there is no hung assembly. My feeling is that there will be a clear mandate.

The JDS is seen as having only H D Kumaraswamy as its leader. Will that be a hindrance in a single-phase election?

I do not feel lack of time is a drawback. I have toured the state already. The projection of one leader is not unique to the JDS. In Gujarat the only face we saw was that of Narendra Modi; in Tamil Nadu it was Jayalalitha alone. Why wont the model work in Karnataka? Also,even though I am the only projected leader of the party,the JDS cannot win elections without collective leadership. There are hundreds of leaders in the constituencies who are not seen. This party has its origins in collective leadership.