Took views of all JD(S) leaders on alliance with BJP, says Deve Gowda

Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) supremo Deve Gowda on Wednesday said that a decision to ally with the Bharatiya Janata Party for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections was taken after consultation with his party colleagues.

"Before joining BJP, I took the views of our 19 MLAs and 8 MLCs who said that JD(S) should consider entering into an understanding with BJP," Deve Gowda said.

Addressing a press conference here, the JD(S) chief said that he had not met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that he had met Home Minister Amit Shah for the first time in the last 10 years.

"We are not power-hungry politicians... I held a discussion with Home Minister Amit Shah for the first time in the last 10 years... I have not met PM Modi... I also explained the political situation in Karnataka to HM…" Deve Gowda said.

He further said that JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy will join the sit-in protest against the State government by former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa over the Cauvery water-sharing issue near the Gandhi statue in Bengaluru today.

The JD(S) had on September 22 joined hands with the BJP-led NDA to take on the Congress party in Karnataka in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

JD(S) leader and former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy made the announcement of the tie-up after meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda in the national capital.

Following the announcement of the new alliance, JD(S) state vice president, Syed Shafiulla Saheb and other leaders including M Srikanth and UT Ayesha Farzana resigned from the party and reportedly there is discontent among several Muslim functionaries in the party

Kumaraswamy said "We will not disrespect any Muslim leader from JDS-BJP alliance. We have discussed about the BJP-JDS alliance with JDS state president CM Ibrahim."

"There will be more talks regarding the JDS-BJP alliance after the Dussehra festival, where seat sharing may be discussed," Kumaraswamy said.

Meanwhile, following his resignation from the JD(S) Syed Shafiulla Saheb accused the BJP for "maintaining silence over the situation in Manipur" which witnessed violence after clashes earlier this May.

Highlighting the difference between the ideologies of the JD(S) and BJP, he said, "I have resigned from the JDS party following its decision to form an alliance with the BJP. The ideology of the JD(S) and BJP, which is based on Hindutva, are different".