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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Power struggle in ruling Cong has 'created massive confusion' in Karnataka: BJP leader Ashoka
Bengaluru (PTI): BJP leader R Ashoka on Friday claimed that the ongoing power struggle between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar has created massive confusion in Karnataka.
He remarked that the proverb “when two people fight, the third one benefits” has come true, as AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge is also now making efforts to become Chief Minister.
Speaking to reporters here, Ashoka said the entire government has turned into a house of confusion due to the alleged power tussle.
Kharge’s new statement has only added to the chaos, he said.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge had on Friday said that no date has been fixed yet to discuss possible leadership change in Karnataka.
This came a day after Kharge said there was no change of CM in Karnataka "for now" and that the leadership issue in the state would be resolved soon.
The BJP leader said that Kharge too has aspirations and that he was cheated earlier.
"Perhaps he has received a green signal from the Congress high command to become CM. Everyone is already saying Kharge should become CM. Kharge himself has declared, “I am ready to become CM.” Despite many attempts in the past, he never became CM. Now he is trying to seize the opportunity," the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly said.
According to him, the situation in Congress has perfectly become a case of “two people fighting, third one benefits.”
