Bengaluru, Oct 30 (PTI) Former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Friday said the BJP and JD(S) should jointly contest future elections in Karnataka to return to power in the state, following his meeting with former Prime Minister and JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda.
After meeting Gowda at his residence in Padmanabhanagar here, BJP stalwart in Karnataka, Yediyurappa said they have discussed the prevailing political situation and that Deve Gowda had suggested a united fight against the Congress government.
“Only if the BJP and JD(S) fight together can we achieve our goal. That was also his suggestion, and I share the same opinion,” Yediyurappa told reporters.
He said Gowda was unhappy with the present government.
“The government must be changed at the earliest, and we must work hard together towards that goal. That was his suggestion,” Yediyurappa said, adding that they had discussed the matter in detail for about 30 minutes.
On the future of the BJP-JD(S) alliance, Yediyurappa said, “We are committed to whatever decision Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Deve Gowda take after sitting together and discussing this matter”.
Expressing confidence that the alliance would work together in the coming days, he said the objective was to regain people’s confidence and return to power in Karnataka.
Asked whether the alliance would continue for the upcoming Zilla Panchayat and Taluk Panchayat elections, Yediyurappa said the matter had not been discussed during Friday’s meeting.
“Today (Friday), we discussed only the prevailing political situation in the state and did not go into smaller issues. I will discuss it with Kumaraswamy and other leaders, and we must collectively take a decision on the way forward,” he said.
Asked about the possibility of mid-term elections or a change of chief minister amid the Congress’s internal developments, Yediyurappa said, “Looking at the confusion, infighting and mutual bickering within the Congress, and the repeated trips to Delhi to meet Rahul Gandhi, the situation today is such that anything can happen at any time. Let us wait and see,” he said.
Alleging that the state’s financial condition had deteriorated, he claimed that the government was facing a situation where it did not even have money to provide diesel for buses.
“Where is the taxpayers’ money going? Why has the situation reached this stage?” he asked.
He said it was distressing that the government did not have time to address such issues and claimed that Karnataka had never faced such a situation before.
“I think even the Congress leaders have realised that they will not be able to return to power,” he said.
Yediyurappa also said Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy could not attend the meeting due to unavoidable circumstances but was aware of the developments and had been briefed about the discussions.
The NDA received a shot in the arm after winning all four seats in the recent MLC election.
In the elections to four vacant Legislative Council seats, the results of which were announced on October 28, the JD(S) candidate A P Rangansth won the Bengaluru Teachers’ constituency defeating the ruling Congress candidate Puttanna, while the BJP retained the North-East Teachers’, South-East Graduates’ and West Graduates’ constituencies. PTI GMS ADB
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.