The Hindu : AIPJD to maintain its identity

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 19, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

AIPJD to maintain its identity

By S. Rajendran

BANGALORE, FEB. 18. The All-India Progressive Janata Dal (AIPJD), despite suffering a serious setback following the desertion by most of its leaders, has decided to maintain the party's identity.

There was hardly any Ramakrishna Hegde loyalist to stay back with the AIPJD founded by him. The floor leader of the party in the Legislative Assembly and former Education Minister, B. Somashekar, and the former Cooperation Minister and MLA, S.S. Patil, are the only AIPJD legislators to remain loyal to the party along with the party President, S.R. Bommai, and his son, Basavaraj Bommai, legislator.

Despite the crisis, differences among the party leaders continue. While some leaders want the party to merge with the Janata Party, others oppose this, as the Janata Party might forge an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party. The section opposed to a merger with the Janata Party is keen on finalising a seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress.

Sources in the AIPJD say that the former Minister and MLC, M.C. Nanaiah, and the former Minister and MLA, K. Jayaprakash Hegde, who recently joined the AIPJD after it was made clear that it would have no truck with the BJP, the former Minister, B.A. Mohideen, and the MLC, M.P. Nadagouda, have made it clear that they do not want the AIPJD to associate with the Janata Party.

Bommai for merger: Interestingly, Mr. S.R. Bommai and his son apart from the former Ministers, M. Raghupathy and H.N. Nanje Gowda, who are the only other leaders left in the AIPJD, are keen on merging the APIJD with the Janata Party. Sources in the AIPJD told The Hindu here today that despite the desertion by most of the leaders, which was described as "unethical and borne out of vested interests", the family of late Ramakrishna Hegde wished that the AIPJD would maintain its identity. Therefore, efforts would be made in this regard, sources said.

Deve Gowda's move: Meanwhile, amidst the confusion in the AIPJD, the former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) President, H.D. Deve Gowda, restarted the exercise of the merger of the AIPJD and the JD(S). He called on the senior AIPJD leader and former MP, V.S. Krishna Iyer, and requested him to coordinate efforts.

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