From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore

Bangalore, Jan 20: Former BJP minister and KJP leader Shivananda Naik joined the JD(S) and might well get the party lok sabha ticket from Uttara Kannada.
 
It may be recalled that the seat has been held by BJP’s Anant Hegde, who is likely to be renominated.

There are, however, several claimants for the Karwar or Uttara Kannada lok sabha ticket from the ruling Congress party with senior party leader R V Deshpande’s industrialist son Prasad, AICC General Secretary B K Hariprasad and Jharkhand Governor Margaret Alva’s son Nivedit Alva being the strong contenders.
 
Shivananda Naik, who unsuccessfully contested from the Bhatkal assembly constituency in Uttara Kannada in the 2013 assembly elections on the KJP ticket, joined the JD(S) at the party office in the presence of JD(S) supremo and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and Opposition leader in the Assembly H D Kumaraswamy in Bangalore on Monday.

He had served as the chairman of the Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited during the BJP rule in the State.

Speaking on the occasion, Gowda said he would retire from active politics if BJP or Congress came to power on their own in the Centre after the coming Lok Sabha elections.

''People were disillusioned with both national parties and third front has the big chance to come back to power,” he said asserting the that the ''magic of AICC Vice-President Rahul Gandhi or BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi would not work out in the country.”

Gowda criticised senior Congress leader, Mani Shankar Aiyar for his statement that a tea vendor, Narendra Modi would not become prime minister of the country, and said that no leader should make personal attack on anybody.

Kumaraswamy said the party would become strong in the coastal region with the entry of Shivananda Naik into JD(S).

He also did not rule out giving ticket to Naik to contest from the Uttara Kannada constituency in the coming general polls.
Naik said he would work hard to build the JD(S), which was wedded to secularism and working for the welfare of poor and downtrodden.
 
Former minister Prabhakar Rane, who was an one-time staunch supporter of Deshpande and had subsequently joined Ramakrishna Hegde’s Lok Shakti party and later the JD(S), was also present.