PEOPLE'S POWER: The former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seeking votes for All India Progressive Janata Dal candidates atop the Chamundi Hills in Mysore on Thursday. — Photo: M.A. Sriram

MYSORE: The former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday launched the All India Progressive Janata Dal's (AIPJD) campaign for the elections to zilla and taluk panchayats, atop the Chamundi Hills here.

After offering prayers to Goddess Chamundeshwari, Mr. Siddaramaiah addressed his supporters outside the temple. Seeking to make it clear to the electorate that he has severed his ties with the Janata Dal (Secular), the former Deputy Chief Minister appealed to voters to cast their votes in favour of "weighing scale," which is the symbol allotted to the AIPJD.

Later, he visited a few houses atop the Chamundi Hills seeking support to the AIPJD.

He visited the house of the priest of the Chamundeswhari Temple, Nagendra Dixit, first and requested him and his wife to cast their votes in favour of AIPJD candidates.

The launch of the AIPJD's campaign also marks the former Deputy Chief Minister's first electoral venture after snapping his more than two-decade of political association with Janata Dal (S) President and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda.

Addressing presspersons, Mr. Siddaramaiah claimed that he had been ousted from the Janata Dal(S) and the coalition Government for no fault of his.

"There were no grounds for my removal," he said and accused Mr. Deve Gowda of promoting his children at the cost of the party.

The main objective of the AIPJD is to prevent "communal" and "dynastic" parties from coming to power, he said.

He questioned Mr. Deve Gowda's commitment to backward classes and accused him of raising the bogey of internal reservation due to his "prejudice."

He attributed "political motives" to Mr. Deve Gowda's demand on internal reservation among backward classes.

"During his long political career, Mr. Deve Gowda had never raised the issue of internal reservation. Why now?"

"He has no concern for backward classes," the former Deputy Chief Minister said.

He said the Union Government will soon begin a census on economic, educational and social status of backward classes.

A decision on providing reservation to different castes will be taken after the survey, the former Deputy Chief Minister said.

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