JOIN USJD(S) seeks Congress' support for Rajya Sabha polls from Karnataka
JD(S) leaders said on Tuesday that their supremo H D Deve Gowda has reached out to All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Sonia Gandhi asking for the Congress’ support in the June 10 Rajya Sabha elections.
The JD(S) has fielded D Kupendra Reddy as its candidate even though it does not have sufficient numbers to win on its own.
JD(S) state president C M Ibrahim and former minister H D Revanna told reporters that they decided to field Reddy only after an assurance from Sonia and other senior Congress leaders.
The Congress on Monday fielded Mansoor Ali Khan as its second candidate although it does not have adequate votes. It is believed that the Congress wanted to put the JD(S) in a spot with this move.
By fielding Khan, Congress wanted to ensure that JD(S) supported his candidature without tying up with BJP to prove its “secular credentials”.
However, the JD(S) has now put the onus back on the Congress. “If the Congress is really interested in keeping communal forces at bay, they will support Reddy,” Revanna said.
Gowda has already requested Sonia for support, while Kumaraswamy spoke to senior leader K C Venugopal. The party leaders have also spoken to Mallikarjun Kharge, D K Shivakumar, R V Deshpande and Ramalinga Reddy. “We fielded Reddy only after assurance of their support,” Revanna said.
“The JD(S) has a strength of 32. A candidate needs 45 votes to win. The Congress has only 18 votes for second candidate. Isn’t it logical that they support our candidate,” Ibrahim asked.
Ibrahim said the Congress had insulted a Muslim candidate by fielding him as second candidate. “They have fielded Khan knowing well that they do not have sufficient votes. Why didn’t they announce Jairam Ramesh as the second candidate, if they had so much commitment towards minorities? They want Ramesh to win and Khan to lose,” he charged.
Apparently, it was at the insistence of Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah that Khan was fielded. “The broad idea is to make sure JD(S) does not win a seat. Also, if JD(S) goes with BJP, Congress can use it against them,” sources said.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim rubbished rumours that Gowda was not in favour of Reddy’s candidature and that this had led to a tiff with Kumaraswamy.