On his first visit to Mandya after being named the candidate of the BJP-JD (S) combine for the Lok Sabha elections in the Vokkaliga-dominated constituency, former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy described the alliance partners as “natural” allies.
Speaking at a coordination meeting of the two parties in Mandya on Thursday, he said the pre-poll understanding between them was “meaningful” unlike the 2019 tie-up with the Congress that ended in “backstabbing”.
Mr. Kumaraswamy recalled that party workers were not satisfied with the alliance between JD (S) and Congress during 2019 and even termed the tie-up as “unnecessary”.
Describing the understanding between BJP and JD (S) as “natural”, the JD (S) leader endorsed an observation made by a speaker a little while ago that BJP and JD (S) were like “milk and honey”.
Mr. Kumaraswamy said the Congress had forever tried to destroy the JD (S). Ever since the two parties aligned with each other after the 2004 Assembly polls threw up a hung verdict, Mr. Kumaraswamy said the Congress had been conspiring to “finish” the JD (S).
He claimed that the people of the State still recall the developments that took place in the State during the BJP-JD (S) coalition rule of 20 months between 2006 and 2008. Though the transfer of power to BJP could not happen in 2008 for “various reasons”, Mr. Kumaraswamy said he had been blamed for the same and forced into “political wilderness” since the last 17 years.
Mr. Kumaraswamy, who claimed that the Congress had come to power in the State “accidentally” as the BJP and JD (S) competed with each other in the 2023 Assembly polls, predicted the fall of the Congress government. By December this year, the Congress government in the State would fall on its own, the JD (S) leader predicted.
Earlier, BJP’s State unit president B.Y. Vijayendra said the BJP-JD (S) combine would work towards ensuring a third term to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He said the alliance between the two parties was giving the Congress leaders in the State “sleepless” nights. After initially proposing to field Ministers as party candidates in the Lok Sabha polls, not a single Minister had entered the poll fray, he said, claiming that the Ministers were afraid of losing the polls to the “popularity” of Mr. Modi and “tsunami” of support for the BJP-JD (S) alliance.
Narayana Gowda present
Meanwhile, former Minister K.C. Narayana Gowda spurned the overtures of the Congress and turned up at the coordination meeting.
After Mr. Kumaraswamy visited Mr. Gowda at the latter’s residence two days ago, he was present at the meeting of the alliance partners in Mandya on Thursday and said he was proud that the former Chief Minister was contesting from Mandya. He vowed to work hard for Mr. Kumaraswamy’s victory.
