Deve Gowda gets emotional after PM Modi's humble praise
Taking on the Janata Dal (Secular) leader Deve Gowda, Rahul Gandhi termed him a "B team" (proxy), for the BJP in Karnataka. That didn't go down well with PM Modi, who responded, "You disrespect Deve Gowda even though you are a novice and he is a veteran." So why is Gowda suddenly important and how did he respond to PM Modi's comments?
Gowda maintained that there was no "understanding" between BJP and him. However, he revealed that he wanted to resign from Lok Sabha after BJP came to power in 2014, "but Modi persuaded me against doing so."
Often alluded as the 'King Maker' party, JD(S) has a strong backing from the Vokkaliga community in the Old Mysore region. Notably, the party won 40 seats in 2013 and 28 in 2008 in the assembly of 225 seats. The figure is important because most opinion polls are hinting towards a hung assembly. Naturally, not just BJP, Congress too has its eyes on JD(S).
Gowda and son Kumaraswamy are betting big on anti-incumbency. They feel that the 12% vote base of the Vokkaligas are angry with Siddaramaiah. Deve Gowda has been advertising Kumaraswamy's one year as Karnataka's CM in 2006, signifying his pro-people policies. At the same time, Kumaraswamy is maximizing numbers by contesting from two seats, Ramnagara and Channapatna that hold prominent Vokkaliga voter base.
In the "battle for survival" for the JD(S) as suggested by Kumaraswamy, the former CM went on to say, "Not kingmaker, people will bless me as a king, that full confidence is there."
From Lingayats to Vokkaligas, from Hindus to Muslims, voters are being wooed from all corners by politicians to add up their numbers. The biggest question for the BJP is whether its star campaigner (Mr. Modi) can manage a majority single-handedly. If not, then him praising Gowda as one of the "tallest leaders for whom I have respect", fits quite well as a back up.
