Karnataka by-polls: Not against to joining hands with JD(S) again, says Congress
Bengaluru, Dec 1: Sounding upbeat after forming a coalition government in Maharashtra, Congress in Karnataka on Sunday made it clear that it was not averse to joining hands with JD(S) once again, in case the ruling BJP fails to garner the required number of seats to be in majority, after December 5 bypolls.
JD(S) leaders have already dropped enough hints about the party being open to such a possibility.
The Congress and JD(S), who ran a coalition government for 14 months in the state and contested Lok Sabha polls in alliance, have parted ways after the collapse of the H D Kumaraswamy ministry in July following the rebellion by 17 MLAs, and are contesting the bypolls independently.
The ruling BJP led by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa needs to win at least six seats in the bypolls to 15 constituencies to remain in a majority in the 224-member assembly, which would still have two vacant seats-- Maski and R R Nagar.
"In order to protect the constitution, democracy and to provide social justice with secular principles, when the situation arises, we will take necessary steps after discussing with our allies and UPA partners on such a matter," veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "Let's see what happens in the future... winning in 15 seats is what we are looking for.. we will let you know. We will give you a correct picture on December 9.. we will give you good news."
Kharge, who is also Congress General Secretary in- charge of Maharashtra, where the party formed a coalition government in alliance with Shiv Sena and NCP and successfully managed to keep BJP out of power, noted that the party took such a decision in the neighboring state to "protect" democracy and in the interest of the people.
"Look at Maharashtra, where Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress have formed a government together.
To tell you the truth, our President (Sonia Gandhi) was not in favour of it and wanted us to be in opposition, but the people, parties with progressive thinking told us to look at keeping BJP away from power..," he said.
Under pressure from legislators, and other parties including leftist parties, a decision was taken with an intention to keep out BJP, which is "fascist" and functions against the democracy, he added.
Another senior Congress leader G Parameshwara too said there was a possibility for Congress and JD(S) coming together if the situation arises, and it would be examined and decided by the high command.
He said, "After results are out on December 9, if Congress gets more seats and BJP gets less, government will collapse, then we will have two options- one not forming the government and staying out, while the second was to join hands with JD(S) to form a coalition government again."
"There is possibility of coming together.. Are we in a position to face mid term polls immediately? Should we impose another election on the people?
I think we may look at the possibilities of going for a coalition government once again, but the decision will be taken by the high command looking at pros and cons, as they did in Maharashtra," he added.
Parameshwara, a former state Congress chief was the Deputy Chief Minister in the previous Congress-JD(S) coalition government headed by Kumaraswamy.
JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda in a cryptic remark made in the context of the by-polls had recently said Congress President Sonia Gandhi's decision after the bypolls should be watched out for, leading to speculation about the possible coming together of the two parties once again, if the situation arose.
Gowda's son Kumaraswamy too had said there would be a stable government in the state after the bypolls, but not necessarily that of BJP, as he asked media persons to wait for December 9 bypoll results.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Fully confident of winning bypolls to 2 Assembly constituencies in Karnataka: CM Siddaramaiah
Davangere (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday asserted that he was one hundred per cent confident that Congress will win by-polls to two Assembly Constituencies in the state, claiming the BJP will face defeat, similar to what they experienced in earlier byelections.
He also played down the disgruntlement among the other ticket aspirants in the Congress, saying that everyone will be convinced and come together to ensure the party's victory.
Bypolls for the Bagalkot and Davanagere South Assembly constituencies will be held on April 9. The polls were necessitated following the deaths of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti and Shamanur Shivashankarappa, respectively.
"I'm one hundred per cent confident that we will win both seats. BJP may claim that they will win, but where have they won? They had made similar claims in the previous bypolls, didn't we defeat sons of former CMs Basavaraj Bommai and H D Kumaraswamy?" Siddaramaiah asked in response to a question.
Speaking to reporters here, he said the BJP may claim things, but the Congress government has fulfilled its promises and walked the talk by implementing five guarantee schemes.
"People of the state are in our (Congress) favour. We have proved it in the previous byelections. People, including Dalits, backward class people, poor, farmers and minorities -- all of them are with us," he added.
When questioned about claims by some BJP leaders that the bypoll results would indicate the outcome of the 2028 Assembly polls in the state, the CM asked, "When they won't win, what indicator is that?"
"We are in power, we won three by-elections earlier, and I'm confident that we will win these by-elections too," he added.
Congress in November 2024 had swept the by-polls to three Assembly constituencies -- Sandur, Shiggaon and Channapatna.
Responding to a question, Siddaramaiah claimed that the BJP will face defeat in all four states -- Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and the union territory of Puducherry -- which are going for polls.
After several rounds of discussion amid stiff competition for the party tickets, Congress on Sunday announced Umesh Meti and Samarth Mallikarjun as the party candidates for Assembly by-polls to Bagalkot and Davangere South assembly constituencies, respectively.
The Congress gave tickets to family members of the late legislators in both constituencies. While Umesh Meti is the son of H Y Meti, Samarth Mallikarjun is the grandson of Shamanur Shivashankarappa.
Expressing confidence that the disgruntlement within the party, following candidate selection, especially in the Davangere South constituency, will be resolved, the CM said, adding that the candidate selection was a unanimous decision by the party.
Pointing out that ticket aspirant Sadiq Pailwan has announced he will contest as a rebel in Davangere South, he said, "We will try and convince him."
When asked whether Muslims would be compensated, Siddaramaiah said, "Nothing has been discussed, but we will try to give representation to minorities."
There was a strong demand from Muslims for the Davangere South ticket, as the community has a significant presence in the constituency. Some factions within Congress had opposed giving the ticket to the Shamanur family.
