2-day JD(S) national executive meet to begin on October 27

Bengaluru: A two-day national executive meet and national council meet of the Janata Dal (Secular) would take place in the party head office JP Bhavan here from Thursday, former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy said on Wednesday.

The office-bearers and executive committee members of the party from 13 States would participate in the meeting, the JD(S) second-in-command told reporters here.

“During the two-day meet, we will discuss political developments in the country and the State along with economic and communal issues. Some important decisions will be taken in these two days,” Kumaraswamy said.

The JD(S) leader explained that the party would launch its ‘pancha rathna’ scheme from Kurudumale Ganapati temple in Kolar from where a ‘ratha yatra’ would start on November 1. On Thursday, a ritual would be performed on the chariot of the proposed meet.

The pancha rathna scheme is aimed at focusing on employment, education, irrigation, agriculture, health, women and youth empowerment, the JD(S) leader said.

According to him, his father and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda started his election campaign in 1994 from Kurudumale due to which his party came to power in the Karnataka Assembly on its own.

“Now, we have also decided to organise our election campaign from Kurudumale Ganapati temple,” Kumaraswamy said.

The leader said the first list of the candidates for the upcoming Assembly election would be released on November 1 at Kurudumale at a public event.

Kumaraswamy told reporters that the ratha yatra would pass through 5 Assembly constituencies of Kolar from November 1 to 5.

From November 6 to 10, it would go around Chikkaballapura district.

The yatra would be conducted in Bengaluru Rural district from November 11 to 13; in Tumakuru from November 14 to 23; in Hassan from November 24 to 30; in Kunigal on December 1; and in Ramanagara from December 2 to 5.

The first phase of the ratha yatra would go on for 35 days and it would pass through various villages and towns, Kumaraswamy said.

The next phase of the pancha rathna ratha yatra would start in January next year after offering tribute to Goddess Chamundeshwari in Mysuru and the entire region would be covered, he added.

The JD(S) leader clarified that his ratha yatra is different from Rahul Gandhi-led ‘Bharat jodo yatra’ and BJP’s ‘jana sankalpa yatra’ in Karnataka.

Kumaraswamy said he may not be able to attend the next Assembly session as he would be busy with the ratha yatra.