Bengaluru: Following the Opposition’s joint initiative against the BJP, it seems regional parties are feeling the heat to take sides but veteran leader Deve Gowda rules out joining either camps.
The Janata Dal (Secular) would fight the Lok Sabha elections independently, the party supremo and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, said today.
However, Gowda's son and former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said last week his party would work together with the BJP against the Congress government on various issues, fueling speculation of the two parties joining hands for next year's polls.
Both the JD(S) and the BJP MLAs had boycotted the Assembly session after 10 BJP legislators were suspended from the House for "indecent and disrespectful conduct".
"JD(S) will fight the Lok Sabha elections independently", Deve Gowda told a news conference in Bengaluru.
"Whether we (the party) win five, six, three, two or one seat, we will fight the Lok Sabha elections independently", he said. "We will field candidates only in those places where we are strong after consulting with our workers," he added.
PTI with superficial edits