Speaking to reporters, KPCC President Mallikarjuna Kharge dismissed reports the AlCC had sent across a message to the State party leaders asking them to extend support from outside to the JD(S).

All leaders who participated in the meeting are learnt to have expressed the view that the Congress should maintain a distance from the JD(S) and under no circumstances should it extend support to that party.
The meeting, chaired by Kharge, was attended by senior leaders, including Siddaramaiah, R V Deshpande, H Vishwanath and Ramalinga Reddy.

The leaders are said to have expressed the view that the State unit of Congress should send a clear message to the high command that all leaders were totally against either joining hands or extending outside support to JD(S). The meeting decided to take a delegation to the high command if necessary to impress upon it against going with the JD(S). For the moment, they have decided to adopt a wait-and-watch policy on the issue.
“At this juncture, JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda is leaving no stone unturned to blackmail BJP. If he gets any positive signal, he would use it for further blackmailing the BJP. So let us not play into the hands of Deve Gowda,” these leaders said.

Meanwhile, sources in the Congress indicated Gowda had contacted National Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar in a bid to get Congress support for the JD(S).