The rantings of former chief minister of Karnataka and leader of the Janata Dal (Secular) HD Kumaraswamy, who called Union minister Prahlad Joshi ‘a Brahmin who belongs to a sect which killed Mahatma Gandhi,’ are seen as a sign of desperation by the JD(S), which is grappling with numerous existential issues on the eve of the Assembly elections in April-May 2023.
In the name of ‘pancharatna’ (the ‘five jewels’), Kumaraswamy is ploughing a solitary furrow across the state and asking for a ‘full mandate’ for JD(S) to carry out his ideas for the state. This is despite the fact that his illustrious father and mentor HD Deve Gowda is practically bedridden due to old age and that many senior leaders in the party have left over the years.
According to the party, the ‘pancharatna’ in whose names votes would be sought were Deve Gowda, his two sons HD Revenna and HD Kumaraswamy, as well as Gowda’s two grandsons Prajwal Revanna and Nikhil Kumaraswamy. The party asserted that ‘pancharatna’ referred to farmers’ welfare, employment, health, education, and skill development as the main goals to be achieved after winning the elections after it was criticised as another instance of ‘dynastic dominance.’
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi entered the debate and suggested that the JD(S) yatra be renamed from ‘pancharatna’ to ‘navagraha’ yatra as more and more members of the Gowda family were becoming politically active as the campaigning intensified and the verbal spat between BJP, Congress, and JD(S) leaders grew. He cited Bhavani Revanna’s recent declaration of her intention to run for the Assembly from the Hassan constituency.
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