K'taka local polls: Upset over Deve Gowda's decision to go solo, Mandya BJP leaders oppose alliance

Bengaluru, Jan 7 BJP leaders from Karnataka's Mandya district are opposing an alliance with the JD(S) in the local body elections following a statement by former Prime Minister and Rajya Sabha Member H.D. Deve Gowda that his party would contest the local body polls independently.

According to sources, BJP leaders expressed their displeasure over Deve Gowda’s remarks during the recently held core committee meeting. Former MP Sumalatha Ambareesh, former Minister K.C. Narayana Gowda, and other BJP leaders from Mandya district are said to be upset over the issue, particularly as the party had relinquished the Mandya Lok Sabha seat to Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and worked extensively for his victory.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Narayana Gowda said, “Deve Gowda has stated that his party will contest the local body polls independently. At that time, we gave up our right to contest the Mandya Lok Sabha seat, even though we had a sitting MP. We convinced the party high command to allot the seat to the JD(S) and actively campaigned for Kumaraswamy in the Lok Sabha elections along with the sitting MP.”

“Kumaraswamy won the election and secured a cabinet berth at the Centre. Now it appears that they no longer need us. The BJP is already strong in this region. Sumalatha Ambareesh had earlier become the Lok Sabha member from Mandya with BJP support, and I too was an MLA. We want to convey that the BJP is prepared to contest the local body elections independently,” he said.

“We will contest the elections on our own as the BJP. There is no need for concern. When the ticket for Union Minister Kumaraswamy was announced, Sumalatha Ambareesh and I went door to door and convinced voters about the BJP-JD(S) alliance. We told them that the alliance would be long-lasting,” Narayana Gowda added.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Sumalatha Ambareesh said there was no clarity on whether there would be an alliance with the JD(S) in the local body polls. “Former Prime Minister Deve Gowda has indicated that his party will contest the local body elections independently. We will follow the instructions of the party leadership in this matter,” she said.

Recently, Deve Gowda announced that the JD(S) had decided to contest the local body elections on its own in Karnataka. “We cannot discuss seat-sharing in local-level elections with either Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Union Home Minister Amit Shah. We will discuss seat-sharing with them only for major national-level elections such as the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. My priority is to strengthen the regional party at the grassroots level,” he said.

He reiterated that the JD(S) would remain firmly aligned with the NDA in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

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