JD(S) MLAs press Kumaraswamy to extend support to BJP

Speaking to the press after the meeting, former minister GT Deve Gowda said that the pro-BJP faction was very vocal.

In a huge twist, legislators of the Janata Dal (Secular) told former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy to take a call on supporting the Bharatiya Janata Party, whose chief minister BS Yediyurappa took the oath of office on Friday.

At a meeting at the Taj West End Hotel here, where Kumaraswamy is staying, two factions emerged within the JD(S). One faction was content with sitting in the opposition, while the other sought to extend support to the BJP.(PTI)

At a meeting at the Taj West End Hotel here, where Kumaraswamy is staying, two factions emerged within the JD(S). One faction was content with sitting in the opposition, while the other sought to extend support to the BJP, either by aligning with it or supporting it from the outside.

Speaking to the press after the meeting, former minister GT Deve Gowda said that the pro-BJP faction was very vocal.

“We unanimously decided to leave the decision up to Kumaraswamy. He will take a call on this,” GT Deve Gowda said.

The move is a remarkable turnaround from just three days ago when the JD(S) had directed bitter barbs at the BJP for allegedly toppling its government, blaming it for supporting the 16 rebels MLAs who ensured the government’s downfall.

Kumaraswamy, before ending his speech in the assembly on the trust vote debate, had a word of advice for the other lawmakers, including those from the rival BJP and its boss BS Yediyurappa.

“This seat is not permanent for anybody. There have been 23 chief ministers in this state,” he told the assembly.

“This is all part of politics,” Kumaraswamy later told reporters outside the assembly soon after losing majority and the government.

BS Yeddyurappa celebrated Kumaraswamy’s exit as the victory of democracy. The JD(S) leader, on his part, blamed the opposition for being in a tearing hurry to prove his minority status in the assembly and come to power.

An alliance with the BJP will be hard to pull through, especially considering the tensions that prevailed within the household of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, when Kumaraswamy had broken up a coalition with the Congress to form a coalition with the BJP in 2006.