H D Deve Gowda hints at Nikhil Kumaraswamy taking over as JD(S) Karnataka president

Mangalore Today News Network

Daengaluru, Dec 8, 2024: Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, who is also the national president of JD(S), on Saturday hinted that JD(S) youth wing president Nikhil Kumaraswamy could be made the party’s Karnataka state unit president.

“At present, Kumaraswamy (Nikhil’s father and Gowda’s son) is looking after the party affairs. Since he is also a union minister, he is not able to concentrate on the party’s affairs completely. In the future, Nikhil may take the responsibility of the party,” Gowda told reporters here. “Nikhil is a youth leader and has a bright future. He has knowledge too. We will give more responsibility to him and strengthen the party from the grassroots level under his leadership,” he said.

To a question on Nikhil losing the elections, he said, “Winning and becoming an MLA or MP is not the only criteria for the party president. Winning and losing is a part of the democratic system. There is no end to political life as it’s common to lose elections in a democracy,” he said.

For the past two weeks, Nikhil has been meeting several union ministers raising various state issues. He also met BJP national general secretary (in charge of Karnataka) Radha Mohan Das Agarwal to discuss the continuation of the JD(S)-BJP alliance in the upcoming panchayat polls in Karnataka. Nikhil also announced he is scheduled to meet Home Minister Amit Shah next week to discuss Karnataka politics.