Deve Gowda downplays PM Modi's praise, says no BJP-JD(S) ties

JD(S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda has scotched speculation on an alliance with BJP for the Karnataka elections notwithstanding Prime Minister Narendra's Modi's lavish praise of him.

Gowda told reporters on Wednesday that Modi was only pointing out the "lack of respect" shown by the Congress to a Kannadiga who is a former prime minister and that it did not mean an alliance was on the cards.

"Maybe, by praising me, he (the prime minister) wants to gain sympathy. That is all. That does not mean there is an understanding (between BJP and JDS)," PTI quoted Gowda a saying.


He asserted JDS would come to power on its own in the May 12 polls, and discounted possibility of a hung assembly.

Modi's sudden praise for the JD( S) leader ignited conjecture that the two parties would team up to beat Congress, at a time most opinion surveys predicted a fractured mandate in the state which goes to polls on May 12.

"I heard the Congress president speak at political rallies 15-20 days ago....the way he referred to respected Deve Gowdaji....is this your culture (sanskar)? This is arrogance. Your life (as Congress chief) has just begun. Deve Gowda is among the tallest leaders of the country. You are insulting him,” Modi said at a campaign rally in Udupi.

This came just a day after Gowda said in media interviews he would "disown" his son Kumaraswamy if he tied up with BJP and that JD(S) had committed a mistake in 2006 by allying with the saffron party.

Modi's praise triggered further claims of a "tacit understanding" between the two opposition parties by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who had earlier alleged that Kumaraswamy met BJP chief Amit Shah secretly to seal a deal.


The Karnataka CM also reminded BJP and JD(S) of the barbs that were aimed by Gowda by Modi during the 2014 Lok Sabha campaign in an attempt to prove that the present show of respect was unprecedented