‘JDS-BJP have unofficial alliance since 2014 in Mysore’: HD Kumaraswamy
Former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has revealed that the alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (Secular) [JDS] is not a recent development, citing an unofficial understanding between the two parties in Mysore since 2014.
Kumaraswamy made these remarks during a media interaction following a tulabhara seve ceremony at the Sri Nanjundeshwara Swamy Temple in Nanjangud, Mysuru, on Thursday.
Addressing the existing harmony between the party cadres, Kumaraswamy described the pre-existing unofficial treaty in Mysore and emphasized that there was no discontent among them.
Responding to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's statement predicting Kumaraswamy's defeat in Mandya, Kumaraswamy questioned Siddaramaiah's credibility as an astrologer and asserted that the people would ultimately decide the outcome of the elections.
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Referring to Siddaramaiah's labeling of him as a migrant, Kumaraswamy retorted by pointing out Siddaramaiah's own transition to the Congress party and his criticism of original Congress members. Kumaraswamy asserted his Kannadiga identity and his right to contest elections anywhere, including Mandya, where he is set to compete against his old friend.
“Siddaramaiah has called me a migrant. Isn’t he a migrant in Congress? Hasn’t he trashed other original Congress people and enjoying power? I am a Kannadiga. I can contest anywhere. I must compete with my old friend in Mandya this time. My fate is so. Sometimes our own friends turn against us. Let it be so”, Kumaraswamy said.
Regarding the Mekedatu project, Kumaraswamy defended former Prime Minister H D Devegowda and questioned the moral authority of the Congress party to criticize him. Regarding the JDS's support for Sumalatha, Kumaraswamy emphasized the need to move beyond political differences and recalled his close association with her late husband, Ambarish. He also expressed willingness to meet Sumalatha if necessary.
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Fascism will not be allowed to enter through the back door of vote rigging: CM Siddaramaiah
New Delhi: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday asserted that fascism would not be allowed to enter India “through the back door of vote rigging” and called upon citizens to collectively defend the country’s democratic foundations.
Speaking after participating in an anti–vote rigging protest organised in New Delhi, Siddaramaiah said the gathering was not merely a political demonstration but a stand to protect Indian democracy. “We have come to the heart of our republic not as Congress workers or voters, but as protectors of Indian democracy,” he said.
Emphasising the importance of the right to vote, Siddaramaiah said it was the most sacred right guaranteed by the Constitution and the very foundation of democracy.
“Through voting, a farmer shapes the future of his children, a worker safeguards his dignity, a youth realises dreams, and a nation expresses its collective will,” he said.
He accused the BJP-led Union government of attempting to undermine this right through what he termed systematic vote rigging, including the alleged misuse of the special revision of electoral rolls. “This power is being stolen repeatedly,” he alleged.
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Warning against authoritarian tendencies, Siddaramaiah said history had shown that dictatorship does not begin with violence but with the misuse of institutions and manipulation of democratic systems.
“Across the world, authoritarian regimes pretend to protect democracy while quietly subverting it. This is what the BJP is doing today,” he charged.
He alleged that the ruling party was controlling institutions, intimidating electoral machinery, distorting voter lists, suppressing voter turnout in opposition strongholds, and misusing money and power. “This is not mere maladministration. Vote rigging is an attack on the very idea of India,” he said.
Siddaramaiah further claimed that governments formed through “stolen votes” could not be considered democratic.
“Such regimes survive through fear, fraud and distortion of the people’s mandate,” he said, adding that vote rigging posed the biggest threat to the republic since Independence.
Praising Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah said he had shown exceptional courage in exposing alleged irregularities in voter lists, booth-level manipulation and “systematic, organised vote rigging” across several states, including Karnataka, Haryana and Bihar.
Referring to Karnataka, Siddaramaiah cited Mahadevpura and Aland constituencies as examples highlighted by Gandhi. In Mahadevpura, he said, thousands of allegedly fake and fraudulent voter entries and discrepancies in electoral rolls pointed to a narrow BJP victory. In Aland, he said, attempts were made to remove the names of legitimate voters ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections.
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He noted that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) had recently filed a chargesheet accusing seven persons, including a former BJP MLA and his son, of attempting to delete the names of around 6,000 voters in Aland.
“This is a significant legal step in the fight against vote rigging,” he said.
Siddaramaiah concluded by stating that the fight against vote rigging was rooted in constitutional morality, Ambedkarite thought and the core principle of democracy. “Sovereignty belongs to the people, not to any party, regime or those who seek to steal elections,” he said.
