H D Kumaraswamy opposes Congress pact, threatens to quit

Bengaluru: State JD(S) president H.D. Kumaraswamy is learnt to have offered to quit the party post if his party strikes an alliance with the Congress for the coming Council polls.

Sources close to Mr Kumaraswamy said he is annoyed with three of his party legislators Zameer Ahmed Khan, N Cheluvarayaswamy and Akhanda Srinivasamurthy for reportedly pressuring JD(S) president H.D. Deve Gowda to strike an alliance with Congress for Council polls.

On Monday, Mr Ahmed reportedly met AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh and discussed with him the proposed pact with to prevent BJP from winning more seats. The behaviour of the three legislators seems to have become a big headache for Mr Kumaraswamy as such important developments are taking place without his knowledge.

Sources said some legislators are reportedly pressuring Mr Gowda to give his consent to the alliance. However, Mr Kumaraswamy is said to be against any alliance with the Congress because of previous experience. Recently, he stated that the alliance between the Congress and JD(S) in BBMP did not have his blessings and had threatened to withdraw support if the Congress failed to focus on development of Bengaluru. In fact, it was Mr Ahmed and Mr Srinivasamurthy who had taken the lead post-BBMP results to forge an alliance with Congress.

Sources said Mr Kumaraswamy had not forgotten how his party was rejected by voters when he failed to hand over power to BJP after completion of 20 months as CM as per the agreement.

DR G. keeps away from alliance talks

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Dr G. Parameshwar on Tuesday distanced himself from the ongoing efforts by a section of leaders in the party to forge an alliance with Janata Dal (Secular) for the forthcoming biennial elections to the Legislative Council from the local bodies constituencies.

Speaking to reporters here, Dr Parameshwar said, “Till this moment, there is no proposal before the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee. We have our own gameplan, we will go according to our plan in these elections.”

He said as KPCC president, he has not received any proposal as of now. “It has come to my knowledge through the media. But I am not sure who is working on this. At the same time I am certain no leader from Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee is involved in any such effort,” he said.

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