Congress ally JDS hints at going it alone in Lok Sabha elections

BENGALURU: The Congress faces a potential hitch in its plans to forge a national coalition to take on the ruling BJP in the 2019 general elections, with its alliance partner in Karnataka, JDS, hinting at going it alone in the Lok Sabha polls unless the Congress stops taking decisions unilaterally and asserting itself as it has been doing since it won three state polls recently.

The JDS on Wednesday dropped hints of leaving the Congress, as it did in the panchayat polls in August. JDS national president HD Deve Gowda said the party had not taken a decision yet, but the party spokesman said party leaders were overwhelmingly in favour of a “friendly fight” between the two parties.

“I don’t want any such blame to rest on my shoulders. It also depends, however, on how respectfully the Congress will treat us,” Gowda told ET.


The latest tipping point is the Congress unilaterally announcing appointments to state-run boards and corporations in Karnataka, some of which come under the portfolios handled by JDS ministers. The Congress also announced its party member as political secretary to the chief minister, which left the JDS angry.

“I have no problem in our party getting one-third share in boards and corporations. But some of these entities that we have got as our share have little or no budgetary support,” said Gowda. He said would soon meet Congress president Rahul Gandhi after the latter makes himself free to sort out the differences. Gandhi is currently preoccupied with portfolio allocation for new ministers in Karnataka.

“We often see the Congress behaving like a big brother. So our party workers and leaders are of the opinion that we must contest in all 28 seats in the state,” said JDS spokesman Ramesh Babu.

In such an event, Gowda might contest from the seats of Hassan and Bengaluru North, the latter currently represented by Union minister DV Sadananda Gowda.