Bengaluru, Mar 30: JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Thursday claimed that both the Congress and the BJP were trying to cosy up to his party, as they may need his party's support in the event of a fractured verdict in the May 10 Assembly elections. He indicated that "middlemen" from both national parties had reached out to him.
Addressing a press conference, the former Chief Minister, however, said he was confident that people would bless his party this time to form an independent government in the state, by giving it a clear majority.
"...there is concern among both the parties, middlemen come from both parties. Why they come one has to understand. It is because the JD(S)' strength is increasing day by day with the blessings of the people," Kumaraswamy said in response to a question on whether leaders of national parties were in touch with him. "It is their ongoing plan. There is competition among both the parties to try to get close to JD(S) and earn its confidence."
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "There is no question of me sitting quietly with a plan to win 65-70 seats and waiting for either of the national parties to approach me to form a coalition government. I am working hard on the ground to form a government with a clear majority."
Kumaraswamy's statement gains significance with respect to the scenarios that might emerge in case of a hung verdict in the Assembly polls if no party got a clear majority, as it happened in 2018.
JD(S) had earlier formed governments in coalition with both the BJP and the Congress respectively for 20 months from January 2006 and for 14 months from May 2018, with Kumaraswamy as Chief Minister.
To a question on whether any middlemen had reached out to him on behalf of the national parties, Kumaraswamy said, "Am I saying for the sake of it...The (local) leaders of national parties speak belittling my party's strength here before the media, then they knock at my door."
"Siddaramaiah (Congress leader) says JD(S) has reached an understanding with BJP, while Chief Minister (Basavaraj Bommi) says JD(S) has an understanding with the Congress. If they had not made such a move (to reach out to JDS), would they utter such things? ...they cannot finish off my party this time. Having got trapped for the past 15 years, I have gone before the people now," he added.
JD(S) has set a target of winning at least 123 of the total 224 seats in the polls, and aims to form an independent government this time.
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New Delhi: There appears to be a glimmer of hope for Nimisha Priya, the nurse from Kerala on death row in Yemen, as report suggest Iranian officials may reach out to the family of Talal Abdo Mahdi, her former business partner, to seek a pardon through blood money. Priya was sentenced to death for Mahdi's murder.
The 37-year-old nurse is currently imprisoned in Sana’a, the Yemeni capital, which is under the control of Iran-backed Houthis.
A report by The New Indian Express published on Friday stated that discussions are underway to gain the victim's family’s support in seeking a pardon. “It’s a relief of sorts. Iran officials could use their good offices with Houthis for the reach-out with family of the victim. Some cash has been arranged for blood money and talks are on to get the family on board to seek pardon, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed,” a source told the publication.
It is learnt that using an appropriate intermediary equivalent of Rs 30 lakh has been kept ready, the report added.
Hailing from Kollengode in Kerala’s Palakkad district, the nurse was found guilty of murdering the Yemeni citizen in July 2017. She was handed capital punishment by a trial court in 2020 while Yemen’s Supreme Judicial Council upheld the verdict in November 2023.
Mahdi, reportedly died from an overdose of sedatives allegedly injected by Priya to retrieve her passport from him.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the Indian government is extending all possible help in the matter. “We are closely following the developments around the sentencing of Nimisha Priya. The government is extending all possible help in the matter,” he said last week.