Karnataka Polls: JDS Promises LPG Cylinder At Half Price, Rs 2000 Per Month For Auto Drivers

Kumaraswamy said, "The central government has implemented the Ujwala scheme by promising to provide free gas. Women who believed this were given a cylinder and given a shock of price hike.

Image Credits: Twitter

Bengaluru: Former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Tuesday announced that if the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) government is voted to power in the state, it would provide a 50 percent subsidy on cooking gas cylinders. The JDS leader was talking to reporters during the lunch break while conducting the Pancharatna Rath Yatra in the Yeshwantpur constituency.

"The central government has implemented the Ujwala scheme by promising to provide free gas. Women who believed this were given a cylinder and given a shock of price hike. Now the price of a cylinder has crossed Rs 1,000 and it is impossible for poor people to survive," Kumaraswamy said.

He said that the cooking gas discount is not the only scheme his party has; there are many more schemes."A total of five cylinders per year will be distributed for free. The auto drivers will be paid Rs 2,000 per month. Also, we will work to fulfill the permanent demand of Anganwadi workers," Kumaraswamy said. Assembly elections on 224 seats in Karnataka are scheduled in the coming months.

Janata Dal-Secular had in December, last year, announced the names of candidates for 93 constituencies. GT Deve Gowda, the Chamundeshwari MLA has also been given a ticket thus ending the speculation that he will leave the party. Earlier this month, the Congress party also announced the first list of candidates for the Karnataka assembly elections.

The names of former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and State party president DK Shivakumar are included in the first list of 124 candidates. In the 2018 Assembly polls, BJP emerged as the single largest party with 104 seats but was short of a majority. Congress won 78 seats while JDS managed to get 37 seats.

JDS in alliance with Congress formed a government and Kumaraswamy was appointed as the chief minister. However, the JDS-Congress government fell a year later and BJP formed the government.