Bengaluru: Fearing a dismal performance by the JD(S)-Congress coalition in the state in the Lok Saha poll, the JD(S) has reportedly decided to play it safe till the new government is formed at the Centre and protect its own interests.
After the third round of polling on April 18, JD(S) supremo, H D Gowda, sensed that a non-NDA government at the Centre was a difficult proposition and so stayed away from campaigning with Mahaghatbhandan partners like Ms Mayawati of the Bahujan Samajwadi party and West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee and also stopped Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy from attending a luncheon meeting of UPA partners in New Delhi on Tuesday, according to sources.
Although Mr Kumaraswamy was all set to go and had even booked a private jet to fly to the capital, Mr Gowda asked him to stay away, they reveal. He instead advised him to remain in Bengaluru and protect the state government should it come under attack from the BJP following Thursday's results. The coalition government in the state has been under threat from the BJP as the party has been allegedly trying to poach its MLAs and destabilise it for some time now.
The worried JD(S) patriarch has reportedly been reassured by Ms Mayawati and Telangana Chief Minister, K Chandrashekhar Rao that they will protect the JD(S)'s interest in the state if the NDA comes to power at the Centre.
Despite the exit poll predictions, Mr Gowda believes that neither the NDA nor the UPA can form a government without the help of Ms Mayawati and Mr Chandrashekar Rao. And as both leaders have promised to protect his party's interests in Karnataka, he is keeping a distance from the BJP and Congress for the time being, say sources.
