Deve Gowda speaks of mid-term polls in Karnataka. There is a twist

Former PM Deve Gowda said he was misunderstood by the media which assumed his mid-term poll comment was about the HD Kumaraswamy government. He insisted that he was talking about the local body elections.

HD Deve Gowda, the Janata Dal Secular leader who had predicted mid-term polls in Karnataka a few hours earlier, backtracked soon after and insisted that he had been misunderstood. Deve Gowda said the government led by son HD Kumaraswamy would complete its full term.

Deve Gowda had ruled out the possibility of mid-term polls only on Thursday, a day before he launched--what was widely seen as--an offensive against the Congress for badly treating JDS and a prediction for a mid-term poll in the state.(PTI FILE)

The former Prime Minister now says that he was misunderstood as he was referring to “the local body elections and not assembly elections”

“There is an understanding signed between JDS and Congress”, he pointed out, in order to ward off concerns triggered by his earlier statement in the day that suggested he was unsure about Congress’ intentions to stay in alliance with JDS in the state of Karnataka.

Deve Gowda had ruled out the possibility of mid-term polls only on Thursday, a day before he launched--what was widely seen as--an offensive against the Congress for badly treating JDS and a prediction for a mid-term poll in the state.

Speaking to reporters at his house on Friday, Deve Gowda had said “There is no doubt that there will be mid-term polls…. They had given us their word that they will support the government, but I am watching how they are behaving.”

He even reminded Congress that his son HD Kumaraswamy became chief minister on its insistence and not JDS while referring to reports that suggested former chief minister and Gowda’s one-time protégé Siddaramaiah had advised Congress president Rahul Gandhi to end the coalition. Siddaramaiah’s office had denied the reports.

“People in that party [Congress] feel that their party will be finished if they continue in alliance with us. They say the sooner this coalition is ended the better.”

“I wasn’t adamant on making this coalition government. They approached me.... I told them to make Kharge the chief minister,” he said, adding that the high command insisted that Kumaraswamy should take that post instead.