Importance of money in elections is growing with rising poll expenditures: JD-S leader Kumaraswamy

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], April 20 : Former Karnataka Chief Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy shed light on the importance of money power in South politics and said the subject of finance is rooted in the rising expenditure required in elections.
The JD(S) leader said that a common man or an honest man as such cannot contest the elections and he also touched on the topic of Karnataka being associated with "third-rate politics."

In an interview with ANI, HD Kumaraswamy elucidated why money played a significant role in South politics.
"In the southern part of India, the aspect of money and cost always plays a major role. In the northern part of India, the situation is different and likewise, it is different in the southern part of India. From election to election, the expenditure is always on the rise. It is going up, not the other way around," said Kumaraswamy.
"Everybody feels that there is a need to change the system due to the expenditure issues. It is difficult to contest or stand for elections. A common man, an honest man, cannot contest elections," he said.

Talking about Karnataka being associated with 'third-rate politics,' Kumaraswamy said, "Karnataka is a very strong state economically, it has good resources. That is why everybody is using illegal money for the elections."
"Several kinds of people are now entering politics in Karnataka. One time the excise lobby was there, another time the educationist lobby and now there are the builders. They are coming to politics, all election to election," he stated.
When asked if the INDIA bloc made an outreach to the JD(S) before it came together with the NDA, Kumaraswamy said that they were never approached by the INDIA leaders to become a part of the INDIA bloc.
"No one from the INDIA bloc approached Deve Gowda ji. They ill-treated him. Even our Karnataka Chief Minister opposed taking Deve Gowda ji into the INDIA bloc. He opposed and told INDIA leaders that if they joined with Deve Gowda ji, I would come out (leave the party)," said Kumaraswamy.
Asked about contesting only from three seats in Karnataka, Kumaraswamy said, "After the delimitation in the country, in 2009, from that time onwards, we won the elections on three seats independently. We only requested three seats. We did not demand more than three seats in three constituencies -- Hassan, Kolar, and Mandya. The BJP-led NDA has given us all respect and has also met all our demands."
When asked about his brother-in-law contesting from the BJP, Kumaraswamy said, "Yes, it was suggested by us that he contest the elections from the BJP because this is an election strategy."
"By combining JDS-BJP we wanted to remove the bad elements, who are representing these constituencies here, and how they are rooting the resources of nature," he said.
Asked, if HD Kumaraswamy would encourage youngsters who have no family background in politics to enter Karnataka politics and if there was any scope or hope for them to make a change, the JDS leader said that it depends on the decision of the people.
"It is very difficult, I think youngsters will bring about a good change in the state, for one person can't do anything. In my opinion, people have to take a decision to clean up this bad system," he said.
The JD(S) leader also attacked the opposition and said that a huge number of voters are misled by parties on grounds of false promises.
"We always see that during the election process, there is a system of distribution of all these material things. If parties would do good work there would have been no need to distribute all this," he said.
"In the previous elections, the Congress party distributed guarantee cards for materials worth up to the worth Rs 5,000 to garner votes. Many people were misled by that and they voted for them," said the JD(S) leader.
In September last year, JD(S) allied with the BJP in Karnataka and formally joined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
This alliance was declared by Kumaraswamy following discussions with Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda in New Delhi.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, JD(S) contested in seven constituencies but secured victory only in Hassan which has been the traditional stronghold of the Gowda family.
Karnataka, which has 28 Lok Sabha seats, will vote in two phases on April 26 and May 7.
The upcoming Lok Sabha elections are crucial for JD(S), which is facing decline and setbacks in its Vokkaliga stronghold.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress and JD(S) fought together against the BJP. The BJP had won a record 25 seats; Congress and JD(S) won just one seat each.
The Lok Sabha Elections 2024 are being held in seven phases starting on April 19. The counting of votes is on June 4.