Deve Gowda sacks K'taka unit Prez Ibrahim, appoints Kumaraswamy in place

Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) patriarch H D Deve Gowda on Thursday removed the party's Karnataka unit president C M Ibrahim, who had raised a banner of revolt against forming an alliance with the BJP, by dissolving the state working committee.

Gowda also appointed his son and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy as the ad-hoc president of the party's state unit.

Kumaraswamy, a two-time Karnataka chief minister, is also the party's legislative unit president.

Gowda's order came after Ibrahim revolted against the party's decision to align with the BJP for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

In this regard, Ibrahim had held a meeting with 'like-minded' people in JD(S) on October 16 and announced that the party led by him was the original one. He also announced formation of a core committee that would submit a memorandum to the party supremo that the JD(S) should not go with the BJP.