<p> Former prime minister and Janata Dal(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda on Thursday said his party would support any candidate selected by the Opposition parties as the presidential nominee.<br /><br />“Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel met me and sought our party’s support for a joint candidate fielded by the Opposition parties in the upcoming election. I told him that my party will support any candidate fielded by them,” Gowda told reporters.<br /><br />Though Sonia invited him to a meeting of the Opposition parties on Friday in New Delhi to discuss the candidature, Gowda deputed Mandya MP C S Puttaraju to attend it, as he will be returning to Bengaluru to take care of some pressing work.<br /><br />The meeting will held as part of the luncheon hosted by Sonia, where the top leaders of several Opposition parties will explore the possibility of fielding a joint candidate.<br /><br />The meeting will be attended by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and JD(U) veteran Sharad Yadav — who, according to sources, is a possible candidate for the top post — among others.<br /><br />The leaders will also discuss issues such as a grand alliance for the upcoming Assembly polls in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka, as well as the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.</p>
<p> Former prime minister and Janata Dal(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda on Thursday said his party would support any candidate selected by the Opposition parties as the presidential nominee.<br /><br />“Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel met me and sought our party’s support for a joint candidate fielded by the Opposition parties in the upcoming election. I told him that my party will support any candidate fielded by them,” Gowda told reporters.<br /><br />Though Sonia invited him to a meeting of the Opposition parties on Friday in New Delhi to discuss the candidature, Gowda deputed Mandya MP C S Puttaraju to attend it, as he will be returning to Bengaluru to take care of some pressing work.<br /><br />The meeting will held as part of the luncheon hosted by Sonia, where the top leaders of several Opposition parties will explore the possibility of fielding a joint candidate.<br /><br />The meeting will be attended by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and JD(U) veteran Sharad Yadav — who, according to sources, is a possible candidate for the top post — among others.<br /><br />The leaders will also discuss issues such as a grand alliance for the upcoming Assembly polls in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka, as well as the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.</p>
