Bengaluru: Days after former Karnataka CM H D Kumaraswamy said his party and BJP have decided to work together “in the interest of the state”, his father and JD (S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda ruled out having any alliance with the saffron party for now.
Dave Gowda said his party will contest the Lok Sabha elections independently and will not have ties with any other party. “Whether we win five, six, three, or two seats, we have decided to go it alone and keep the existence of the party afloat. We will decide on the future course of action based on the prevailing situation,” he said, indicating that in the long run the possibility of a tie-up with NDA or INDIA could not be ruled out.
Gowda said that JD(S) will field candidates only in constituencies where it has a strong presence. The former PM said he was not invited for the opposition parties’ meet held in Bengaluru earlier this month as a section of Congress in Karnataka was opposed to such a move, even though Bihar CM Nitish Kumar was keen on his participation.
After the party's drubbing in the recent assembly elections, a section of JD(S) functionaries, including Kumaraswamy, is said to be in favour of an alliance with BJP. Kumaraswamy feels the regional party stands a better chance of winning more seats in the Old Mysuru region if there is a direct fight with Congress.
But BJP functionaries feel an alliance with JD(S) will not be beneficial to them as Kumaraswamy's party does not have much of a presence outside the Old Mysuru region, where 18 seats are up for grabs.