Gowda Asks Dal To Be Ready For Snap Polls

A defiant Deve Gowda has asked his party to gear up for mid-term elections, saying the United Front (UF) would return with a stronger presence in Parliament.

Gowda told Karnataka Janata Dal leaders who called on him at his residence yesterday morning that even if he remained in the saddle after the confidence vote on April 11, a decision could be taken to go to the people by recommending dissolution of the House.

Stating that the budget might be passed before the confidence motion, the Prime Minister wondered how the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress would explain their decision to vote out the government, while supporting its budget, to the electorate.

 

Gowda expects the BJP to once again emerge as the single largest party, possibly with an even larger number of seats. However, he is confident that the BJP will be unable to form a government owing to the reluctance of several mainstream parties to be associated with it. He is also certain that the Congress will be decimated in fresh polls, and will be be left with no choice but to support a fresh UF government.

According to a legislator who was present at the meeting, Gowda was optimistic that the people would side with a government which he feels has done nothing to deserve a fall, while doing plenty of good work.

Listing his governments achievements, the Prime Minister pointed out that it has been scandal-free, its performance on the economic front has been uniformly praised, and a regional balance has been achieved in distribution of Central funds and development projects. He also cited his administrations efforts to improve relations with China, Russia, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

On the other hand, Gowda was dismissive of the Congress prospects, saying it was in deep trouble over a number of corruption cases against its leaders. The party was also worried about a case involving huge foreign donations to it when Sitaram Kesari was its treasurer, he said.