New Delhi:
HD Deve Gowda, chief of Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), on Saturday reasserted his support to Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Speaking to ANI news agency, Gowda said that his party was with the Congress even as the clear picture will emerge after results on May 23.
“We are with Congress. I don't want to speak anything more. On 23rd results will come, clear picture will be known to the entire country and what further development takes place,” the JD-S chief said.
The former prime minister’s party is fighting the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in alliance with the Congress party. His son HD Kumaraswamy is the chief minister of Karnataka. He formed the government with the support of the Congress party after the BJP failed to prove majority in state.
Earlier, Deve Gowda had thrown his weight behind the Rahul Gandhi for the prime minister’s post and said that he will stand by the Congress chief if he becomes the PM of the country.
While the Congress chief has found support to his claim for the top job from DMK president MK Stalin and Deve Gowda, most Opposition parties are divided on the issue of who will become the prime minister if the BJP-led NDA fails to get clear majority.
Amid the warring Opposition, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao is making efforts to build a third front sans the Congress and the BJP. He even reached out to Stalin to get his support but reportedly been denied as the DMK chief has already pledged his support to the Congress party.
Another stakeholders, who will have a say in deciding the Opposition’s PM candidate, are Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati. While Mayawati batted for herself, Mamata Banerjee said that the matter will be addressed post-election results.
