HD Deve Gowda may talk tie-up with Congress

BENGALURU: Amid fears of losing more MLAs to the BJP in Karnataka, the JDS is keenly pursuing an electoral tie-up with the Congress for the forthcoming bypolls to the 17 Assembly constituencies with the hopes of giving another shot at wresting power from the BJP and arrest any further erosion of its base in its traditional pockets of strength.

JDS supremo HD Deve Gowda has not hidden his desire to enter into an electoral deal, and might directly talk to AICC president Sonia Gandhi, and explain to her the need for taking on the BJP together.

The party is beset with fears of desertions by a few more MLAs, though Gowda is firm that no MLA is walking away from the party fold.


The Karnataka Congress leaders, especially Siddaramaiah, are not in favour of this, especially after Gowda and former CM HD Kumaraswamy pointed fingers at Siddaramaiah for troubles in the JDS-Congress coalition. The former CM, however, shares a cordial relationship with Congress leader DK Shivakumar.

Seventeen lawmakers -- 13 of them from the Congress, three from the JDS and one independent-turned-Congress member -- resigned their Assembly membership in July in a show of rebellion to the coalition regime. Previous Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar, however, disqualified them from the membership, rejecting their resignations.

The 17 disqualified members have moved the Election Commission requesting it not to hold bypolls until the Supreme Court takes a view on their petitions challenging the Speaker’s order.

It is, however, to be seen how the Commission will view it since there has not been a stay to the Speaker’s order in which case they would have continued to be members. The Commission is expected to announce the poll dates for the Assemblies of Maharashtra and Haryana next month, and may also announce dates for bypolls in Karnataka as well, according to political sources.