Bengaluru, Nov 21 (IANS) Former Prime Minister and Rajya Sabha Member H.D. Deve Gowda has been unanimously re-elected as the National President of the JD (S), while Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has been unanimously re-elected as the party’s Karnataka unit President during the National Council meeting held at the party’s state office, JP Bhavan in Bengaluru on Friday.

National representatives reached a consensus on re-electing the two leaders.

“There are vast opportunities for strengthening the party organisation at the national level, and the organisation needs to be made stronger in Karnataka as well. In this context, the National Council decided that the party should continue to be organised under the leadership of Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy,” an official statement said.

Representatives from various states, including Haryana, Delhi, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal, were present at the meeting.

In addition, all JD(S) MLAs from the state, Members of the Legislative Council, district presidents of the party, and other leaders participated in the National Council meeting.

JD (S) Legislature Party leader C.B. Suresh Babu said, “JD (S) is the only regional party in the state, and it has now completed 25 years. The party has remained strong to this day due to the tireless efforts of Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy. It has an enormous cadre base. Deve Gowda built and nurtured the party, dedicating his life entirely to it. At this important juncture, the National Council resolved that these two strong leaders should continue to lead the party.”

The JD (S) National Council meeting passed resolutions in support of farmers and on strengthening the party organisation. These resolutions will be approved at the National Executive meeting scheduled for Saturday, Suresh Babu said.

Speaking at the party’s National Council meeting, Deve Gowda said that the party was built by overcoming numerous difficult challenges and that it would continue to face such challenges in the future and strengthen the organisation. “No one should have any kind of doubt about this,” he asserted.

He said: “Many leaders have left our party — including the present Chief Minister of Karnataka (Siddaramaiah). They built their political careers through our party, gained strength in every possible way, and then left. Even so, we have continued to build and grow the party amid enormous challenges,” Deve Gowda said.

He noted that the party had faced several splits at the state and national levels. “Our party has a strong base in Karnataka as well as in several other states. We can build it into a powerful organisation. Without any hesitation or fear, we will continue to strengthen the party,” he vowed.

“For several years, we have shared power with different parties. Kumaraswamy has joined hands with both the BJP and the Congress and has governed Karnataka. He has served as Chief Minister twice. During the coalition government, he implemented several good programmes, including farm loan waivers.

“Kumaraswamy has extensive experience in administration. He is now serving as a Union minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and is doing excellent work,” Deve Gowda said.

Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister Kumaraswamy said that only Deve Gowda himself knows the hardships he endured to build the party, and that his sacrifice should never be taken lightly. He emphasised that it was Deve Gowda who strongly organised anti-Congress politics in the state.

“The people know how much Deve Gowda has contributed to this state and to the nation. No one can erase the history of how many leaders he has groomed and how many communities he has empowered,” he stated.

“A person who was born politically in this party, who served twice as Deputy Chief Minister, jumped to another party and claimed in Kolar that someone else was responsible for his political rise. Yesterday in Chamarajanagar, the same individual said that had he remained in the JD (S), he would not have become the Chief Minister. Who made him the Deputy Chief Minister twice in our party? If we had not made him DCM, the Congress would not have even looked at him,” the Union Minister remarked critically, targeting CM Siddaramaiah.

–IANS

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