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‘No alliance with NDA or INDIA,’ Janata Dal (Secular) supremo HD Deve Gowda clarifies

Jul 25, 2023 03:28 PM IST

Deve Gowda - who refused to ally with either the BJP or the Congress - said the JDS will fight the 2024 Lok Sabha poll independently.

Janata Dal (Secular) boss HD Deve Gowda insisted Tuesday his outfit will not join the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance ahead of next year's general election. Deve Gowda - who refused to ally with either the BJP or the Congress in the build-up to the Karnataka election - said the JDS will fight the 2024 Lok Sabha poll independently.

Former prime minister and JD-S chief HD Devegowda.
Former prime minister and JD-S chief HD Devegowda.

Also Read - JD(S) and BJP to jointly take on Congress government, says Kumaraswamy

The former prime minister and his son, ex-chief minister HD Kumaraswamy had hoped to play 'kingmaker' in Karnataka but those hopes were dashed after the Congress' dominant win meant the party could oust the then-ruling BJP and form the government on its own.

That setback - to the JDS' bid to return to power in Karnataka - was followed by rumours of a deal with a chastened BJP ahead of voting for the southern state's 28 Lok Sabha seats.

Deve Gowda's latest comments, however, appear to have put such talk to bed.

"All our party members will be working to strengthen the party across the state. In (the) upcoming general election the party will field candidates from those areas where (it) has a strong hold. Let me be very clear... JDS is not going to ally with any party in (the) near future."

JDS-BJP alliance flip-flop?

However, the JDS leader's comments today seem contradict those by his son last week.

On Friday Kumaraswamy and BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai, the former chief minister, declared their two parties would 'work together' to reign in the Congress government.

This was after ten BJP MLAs were suspended from the Assembly after ruckus in the House.

JDS not in opposition alliance?

The JDS was not part of the 26 opposition parties that met in Bengaluru this month.

"Some (Karnataka) Congress leaders did not want me... Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is my good friend (but) since Congress doesn't want me... I skipped," Deve Gowda explained.

The 26 opposition parties that did attend have banded together under the I.N.D.I.A umbrella to challenge prime minister Narendra Modi and his BJP in the 2024 election.

HDK trying to 'destabilise' govt?

Meanwhile, on Monday, Congress leader and Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar accused Kumaraswamy of trying to destabilise the state government.

"I have information about his (HD Kumaraswamy) visit to Singapore. Instead of rounding off a 'game plan' here in Bengaluru, they went to Singapore to work on a strategy. We know everything."

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