BJP will have to come to me after polls, says HD Kumaraswamy, and then clarifies
Bengaluru, Dec 19: Hinting at a possibility of his party emerging as a deciding factor in case of a fractured mandate in 2023 Assembly polls in Karnataka, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Monday warned the ruling BJP that it might have to come to him after the elections.
Kumaraswamy was speaking after releasing the first list of 93 JD(S) candidates for the election.
"In 2023, you (BJP) will have to come to JD(S). Be careful. It is not easy for the BJP to survive. I have decided to throw the BJP out of the State. I don't need to learn from you," Kumaraswamy said while referring to the BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh.
The former Chief Minister was reacting to Santosh 's recent comments taking a dig at JD(S)' "family politics", and its leadership's emotional appeal to people during polls, for votes in their favour, stating that this would be their last election.
However, later stating that both BJP and Congress would be rejected, as people want to bring a government for and by Kannadigas, Kumaraswamy clarified that he did not mean having a post-poll alliance with the BJP to form a government.
"When JD(S) forms an independent government, BJP leaders will have to come to me to get work done. Why should I form a government with looters?" he said in response to a question.
Hoping to form an independent government with majority, JD(S) has set a target of winning at least 123 seats in the 224-member Assembly.
Kumaraswamy had headed a coalition government with both national parties in the past when there was fractured mandate- for 20 months with BJP from February 2006, and with Congress for 14 months after the 2018 Assembly polls.
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Stalin accuses Centre of trying to use women's quota as 'weapon,' slams EPS over delimitation
Chennai (PTI): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has strongly criticised the Centre over the women's reservation and accused it of trying to use it as a "weapon" to tackle the opposition before taking up the delimitation exercise based on population.
"The Union government is not concerned about implementing reservations for women. If their concerns were genuine, they could have done it right away. Rather than doing that, the BJP-led Centre is thinking of using it as a weapon to tackle opposition and take up the delimitation exercise based on population," he told PTI in an interview.
"Hence, the women's reservation must be implemented immediately without showing delimitation as a reason," the DMK president added.
Expressing apprehensions on the proposed delimitation exercise, the CM said it was the DMK that raised the first voice asserting the rights of the state after realising that Tamil Nadu would be affected by the proposed exercise. He also attacked his rival and AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami over the delimitation issue.
Recalling efforts made by the DMK to raise the issue of population-based delimitation, he said an all-party meeting and a meeting of CMs under the auspices of the Joint Action Committee seeking fair delimitation were convened. It sought to freeze delimitation for 25 years and stick to it based on the 1971 Census population.
"We urged the union government that states which successfully implemented population control programmes must not be punished," he added.
The party came up with "Tamil Nadu poradum, Tamil Nadu vellum" (Tamil Nadu will struggle, Tamil Nadu will win) and this is DMK's stand, he said.
"However, Palaniswami, who is seeking votes for the entry of the BJP through the backdoor, has till date been mute over delimitation, and this is a betrayal of the people of Tamil Nadu."
