Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018: JD(S) to choose Left parties over Congress

Former Prime Minister H D Devegowda is on a two-day tour

The Janata Dal-Secular- JD(S) has decided to choose Left parties over Congress in the upcoming Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018. Former Prime Minister and party patriarch H D Devegowda, during his visit to Mangaluru on Monday, said that aligning with the Congress was not an option for his party.

Gowda, who is currently on a two-day tour in Tumkur, Mangaluru and Udupi, said that the JD(S) would contest from all 224 constituencies but will consider allowing candidates of Left parties to contest from some of the seats. "H D Kumaraswamy is regretting aligning with the Congress. I have burnt my fingers for being an ally too," H D Devegowda said making his party's stance clear on a coalition in case of a hung assembly.

The 84-year-old party patriarch is touring coastal Karnataka-a region where his party barely has a presence. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress are vying to dominate the region, Devegowda expressed hopes of JD(S) leaving a mark in the communally sensitive coastal Karnataka.

"Our party is weak in all three districts of Coastal Karnataka and I am working towards strengthening it," he said while adding that the party will organise a massive rally in Mangaluru in the month of February.

Asked if the JD(S) would consider joining hands with the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), Gowda answered in the negative. Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018 is expected to be a three-cornered contest with the regional JD(S) battling it out with national parties- BJP and Congress. Devegowda hopes to win at least one seat from Coastal Karnataka this time around.

Most opinion polls in Karnataka have predicted a hung assembly in the state paving way for a coalition government. While the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government is hopeful of returning to power with a majority over its achievements and governance, the BJP is banking on the Centre's achievements and works during B S Yeddyurappa's tenure as the Chief Minister- all of this while parties are accusing each other of polarisation. The JD(S) has pushed farmer issues as its primary agenda apart from playing the "regional party" card.

OneIndia News