CM Ibrahim quits as JD(S) state chief, Kumaraswamy elected legislature party leader

BENGALURU: Janata Dal (Secular) state president C M Ibrahim has resigned from the post owning moral responsibility for the party’s poor show in the Assembly election.

Speaking to reporters after meeting party patriarch H D Deve Gowda outside the latter’s residence, Ibrahim said he takes responsibility for the loss and had submitted his resignation to Deve Gowda. “There was opposition to the BJP administration and a new government is in place in the state. The Congress used money power and other means, but we are a regional party with not much resources and we didn’t even have the support of any other party. Yet, we secured 60 lakh votes”, he said.

Stating that the JD(S) will prepare itself for the upcoming Lok Sabha, zilla and taluk panchayat elections, he said they will give the Congress three months, which he termed as the honeymoon period, to fulfil its promises. “We had crowds at our rallies, but local leaders failed to convert them into votes. In 15-20 seats, we lost by a margin of 2,000 votes. The BJP was out to finish the JD(S) and the results of Hassan, Ramanagara and Mandya districts are proof of this”, he said.

Meanwhile, the party has unanimously elected H D Kumaraswamy as its legislature party leader at a meeting held on Wednesday. All 19 MLAs of the JD(S) were present. The party will also hold an introspection meeting at the Palace Grounds on Thursday along with district and taluk-level leaders.