New Delhi: Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda was unanimously re-elected as the national president of the Janata Dal (Secular) on Thursday, a post he has been holding since its inception in 1999, news agency PTI reported.


A decision on this was taken in the presence of 89-year-old Gowda and his son and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy during the JD(S) national executive meet at JP Bhavan in Bengaluru.


“All the executive committee members from various states unanimously decided to have Deve Gowda as the party’s national president. Accordingly, he was re-elected to the top post of the party,” PTI quoted a party office bearer as saying.


According to the party official, the party’s state president CM Ibrahim, Kerala’s Energy Minister K Krishnankutty, MLAs from Karnataka and Kerala, JD(S) presidents of 13 states, and various important office bearers were present at the executive meeting.


READ | Himachal Assembly Polls: PM Narendra Modi To Address BJP Rallies From Nov 5-9


According to him, the party passed a set of resolutions pertaining to price rise, agriculture, problems faced by farmers, labourers, Dalits and women, among other issues.


Earlier, JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy had said that his party will not have a poll alliance with any party for the upcoming Karnataka elections, which is scheduled to be held in April next year.


READ | SP Leader Azam Khan, 2 Others Get 3-Year Jail Term In 2019 Hate Speech Case


The former Chief Minister also said that he would announce the first list of candidates for 123-126 seats in the 224-member Karnataka Assembly.


As per reports, the JD(S) will kickstart the ‘Pancharatna Rathyatra’ from Mulbagal in Kolar district on November 1 under the leadership of Kumaraswamy, in a bid to spread awareness about the welfare programmes it plans to bring once voted to power.