Bengaluru: Declaring that his party would not join hands with either the Congress or the BJP in the 2018 Assembly polls, state JDS president, H D Kumaraswamy on Thursday claimed it was the only hope for Karnataka as the other two parties were merely intent on "looting" it .
"One party says diary and another says CD. Between them, Karnataka's situation is deteriorating by the day. The JD(S) is the only hope for the state . We are hoping to come to power on our own," he said, addressing a JD(S) rally at the Palace Grounds in the city.
In an obvious reference to former minister and mining baron, Janardhan Reddy, Mr Kumaraswamy added caustically, “One BJP leader had taken an oath to write my future. Now, the Enforcement Directorate and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have helped him get back his assets as he has promised to give Rs 500 crore to the party."
JD(S) supremo, H.D. Deve Gowda in his speech described the developments in the state as disturbing and claimed that both the Congress and BJP had let the people down.
"Only regional parties can address the problems of the people. During the next one year I intend to travel to every nook and corner of the state to ensure that the JD(S) comes to power in the state," he added.
Taking a dig at the new Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath, he said the head of a religious mutt was now heading 30 crore people of a state.
In a resolution passed at the rally, the JD(S) promised to waive off farmers' loans, and provide free power supply to BPL card-holders if elected to power in 2018.
