Deve Gowda says JD-S to maintain equidistance from BJP, Cong in 2014 Lok Sabha polls

Party to contest all the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka and one seat in Kerala

Former Prime Minister and JD-S supremo H D Deve Gowda today said the party would maintain equidistance from BJP and Congress in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and supported the initiative taken by Left parties to form a future political combination.

"In the coming Lok Sabha elections, JD-S will keep equidistance from both BJP and Congress," he told reporters after the party's National Executive Committee meeting here.

Gowda said the United Progressive Alliance and National Democratic Alliance have created "an atmosphere of uneasiness" for the future Prime Minister to bring the administration back on proper track.

"People are fed up with Congress. What happened in Assam? How many people were displaced? What is happening in Andhra Pradesh? The state is gripped in tremendous tension over Telangana," he said.

The party would contest all the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka and one seat in Kerala, Gowda said.

Gowda said his party was already in alliance with Left parties who were initiating moves for a future political combination.

"Mamata (Banerjee) has said she would not support Narendra Modi. Jayalalitha has said she is with the Left, and I am with the Left too. This is not something new to me," he said. Gowda also declared that he was not aspiring for any job at New Delhi.

He also said the party was aware of differences in various regional parties but they are together on issues of secularism and corruption.

Earlier, the meeting appealed to the Gowda to play more role in national politics to bring together the non-Congress and non-BJP political parties.