Will not be rigid in demand to contest from 12 seats; Deve Gowda
Bengaluru: Indicating that he was agreeable to showing some flexibility in seat sharing talks for the coming Lok Sabha polls with ruling coalition partner Congress, JD(S) supremo Deve Gowda Sunday said his party would not be 'rigid' in its demand to contest from 12 of the total of 28 seats.
Gowda said he had also asked the Congress to have a similar mentality during the seat sharing discussions as there should not be any room for differences on seat sharing between the parties, whose main aim was to halt the BJP's growth.
"I have said 12 seats should be given to us, but I will also not be rigid in saying that they should give us 12," the former Prime Minister said.
Speaking to reporters in Mangaluru, he said, "By loosening our stand a bit... a final decision should be arrived at.
You (Congress) should also have that mentality, I have said. Finally we will come to a decision cordially."
Gowda said he was stating this to bring to an end all speculation and talk that differences may emerge within the coalition during discussions on seat sharing.
The JD(S) leader said he would not be 'adamant' in his demand for seats as the main focus was to halt the BJP's progress and nothing should cause a threat to the alliance.
Congress and JD(S) leaders are likely to discuss seat sharing for the coming Lok Sabha polls at the coalition coordination committee meeting on Monday.
The coalition partners had held the first round of talks on seat sharing on February 25, during which Congress insisted that winnability would be the criteria, while the JD(S) maintained its stand to contest 12 seats.
As per their coalition agreement, both Congress and JD(S) have decided to fight the Lok Sabha polls together.
However, seat sharing is likely to be a major test for both parties as the JD(S), which is banking on two-third, one-third formula adopted in ministry formation and allocation of boards and corporations, has demanded 12 seats out of the total of 28 seats.
According to sources, JD(S) is said to be keen on contesting from Mandya, Hassan, Bangalore North, Mysuru, Chikkaballapur, Tumakuru, Chitradurga, Raichur, Bidar, Bijapur, Uttara Kannada and Shivamogga.
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Man from Thane held for using fake railway pass on local train
Thane (PTI): Police have arrested a 20-year-old man from Maharashtra's Thane city for allegedly travelling on a fake railway pass generated through the UTS mobile ticketing app, officials said on Sunday.
The man was travelling on a Dadar-Ambernath fast AC local train on Friday when the travelling ticket inspector asked him to show his ticket.
The accused showed a digital railway pass on his mobile phone's WhatsApp and it was later found to be fake, a Government Railway Police (GRP) official said.
He was offloaded at Thane station and brought to the GRP police station for further inquiry.
During questioning, the man claimed that a friend forwarded the fake pass to him on WhatsApp, the official said.
The man was later arrested and booked on charges of cheating and forgery, the police added.
