Nobody can guess how people will vote, says Deve Gowda

Bangalore, April 22: The Congress should hold their celebrations, BJP can still hope to redeem itself and the JDS can continue to be optimistic. This is sum of analysis from the ground, not by a psephologist, but by a veteran.

Nobody can guess how people will vote, says JDS leader HD Deve Gowda. But he is still hopefull of becoming the king in Karnataka.

JDS president and former prime minister Deve Gowda, despite poor show in recently concluded urban bodies polls, today did not rule out the possibility of his party emerging as a 'king' in the May 5 Assembly elections in Karnataka.

The senior politicians, veteran of coalitions in the centre and Karnataka, said that in poltics "nobody should be pessimistic". With multi-cornered contest and absence of party workers at grassroots, Deve Gowda could be close to truth. The political parties can longer take voters as fixed deposits. In flexi interest rate India, the voter has become intelligent, informed and flexible without a baggage of ideology.

When asked if his party would be a king or kingmaker, Gowda replied, "Why not king?. I am not saying this with exaggeration."

He remained non-committal on JDS support to either the Congress or the BJP in case of a hung verdict.

JDS is contesting 223 of the total 224 Assembly seats and it has attracted politicians from Congress and the BJP.

On national politics, he said both Congress and the BJP were scouting for allies which "is a reality." Asked whether the third front would try to win over Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar or "allow him to go to Congress" as he was pitching for a "secular prime minister" in relation to his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi, Gowda said he did not like to discuss individuals.

OneIndia News