Bengaluru, DHNS: JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda on Wednesday said that his political detractors could never finish him off politically.

Gowda said that both he and his party are relevant today. He was speaking at an interaction programme on the importance of regional parties organised by the legal cell of JD(S) in Bengaluru.

Making an indirect reference to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the eight rebel MLAs of the JD(S), he said that these leaders were making concerted efforts to finish him off politically.

“My political detractors are trying to finish me off, but they will never succeed. I will not listen to astrology and sit back. Nor will I cower thinking that this is my fate. I have struggled a lot, but my patience is wearing thin. I will build the party office, name it J P Bhavan and strive to bring back the party to power,” he said.The former prime minister said that the JD(S) was stuck with the reputation of being a ‘father-son’ party and that he has blind love for his sons.

“But the fact is that I was not the one who introduced my sons to politics.

Kumaraswamy was busy producing films, when he was brought into politics by other leaders in the party. Likewise, I never groomed Revanna. Instead of my son, I gave the ticket to somebody else to contest the MLA elections from Holenarsipur.” he added.

He said that the eight rebels were going “tom tomming” that it was impossible to survive in the father-son party.

Indirectly, attacking Chamarajpet MLA B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan who is now in Mecca, Gowda said: “When I hosted the Iftar party recently, several people received messages from the Mecca, not to attend the event. Despite this, there was a massive turnout.”

Asked if the Congress and the JD(S) were joining hands to unseat Legislative Council chairman D H Shankarmurthy and bring in senior JD(S) MLC Basavaraj Horatti in his place, Gowda said that he would welcome it if all the three parties unanimously elected Horatti.