Even husband, wife fight: Deve Gowda on his relationship with PM Modi

Former PM says that while he shares a special relationship with PM Modi, their relationship is not related to politics

| Updated: 08 May, 2023 10:54 pm IST

RAMANAGARA (KARNATAKA): Back in 2014, Narendra Modi humbled many egos, leading the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to an impressive win at the general election.

One of the detractors who had to eat his words included Janata Dal (Secular) patriarch HD Deve Gowda. The former PM had declared that he would resign (from the Lok Sabha) if Modi came to power by winning 276 seats on his own.

The magic of Narendra Modi began as the BJP won 282 seats on its own, making many like Deve Gowda bite the dust. Following the election, PM Modi personally invited him to attend the swearing-in ceremony, where Deve Gowda sought to meet him personally, to which the former readily agreed.

But what made Deve Gowda a Modi fan was the fact that PM Modi himself came to the portico of Parliament to receive Deve Gowda.

“I have had knee pain, which is still there. But the PM of India himself came down to meet me. He held my hands and took me inside,” Deve Gowda had said while saying that PM Modi rejected his offer to quit the Lok Sabha, explaining why he (Deve Gowda) is taking things said during campaigning seriously.

Despite being on the opposite side of the political divide, Deve Gowda recalled that PM Modi’s respect never dwindled, which was evident from the meetings he had with him.

As Karnataka geared up for the assembly election, on May 10, both PM Modi and Deve Gowda once again found themselves on the opposite side. However, the former PM had an interesting take on the subject.

In an exclusive chat with The New Indian, Deve Gowda said, “My relationship with PM Modi has nothing to do with politics. Even husband and wife fight.”

The 89-year-old Rajya Sabha MP is also clear that there will be no alliance with both the Congress and the BJP. “There will be no alliance with both Congress and BJP,” he told The New Indian, as he hoped that JD(S) would come to power on its own.

Despite his advanced age and his health issues, Deve Gowda was stomping the political ground as he prepared to pass the baton to the next generation of the family.

Deve Gowda was campaigning for his grandson, actor Nikhil Kumaraswamy. While the 33-year-old had begun his political career with a crushing defeat in the 2019 general election from Mandya.

However, Deve Gowda looked confident of his grandson’s chance as he termed him a leader for the future. “This time he will win hands down, and he is going to be the leader in the future,” a confident granddad said.

“The people of Ramnagar are certainly going to elect him by a thumping majority. You will see on May 13 when the result is announced,” he summed up.

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