Amid speculations of the merger of Janata Dal-Secular with the BJP, former Karnataka Chief Minister and JDS-BJP candidate HD Kumaraswamy said on Saturday that if everything goes smoothly, there is no question of JDS being absorbed into the BJP and they will work together.

In an exclusive interview with ANI, HD Kumaraswamy said, “There is no question of merging our party with any other party. Categorically, I am telling you. There is no question. If the BJP treats us well and everything goes smoothly, there is no question of JDS being absorbed into the BJP. We will work together.”

“I would like to tell Siddaramaiah that even if 100 Siddaramaiahs come against us, they can’t do anything to our party. They can’t damage it,” he said.

Going back in time, in 2006, HD Kumaraswamy rebelled and walked out of the JD(S)-Congress coalition with 42 MLAs, reportedly against the wishes of his father, former PM and JD(S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda, citing a threat to the party, and formed the government with the BJP.

He was asked whether inviting Deve Gowda to the ”Pran Pratishtha” ceremony can be considered a personal connection between PM Modi and Deva Gowda, which led to the BJP-JD(S) alliance. HD Kumaraswamy elaborated on the dynamics between PM Modi and Deve Gowda, stating, “When Narendra Modi ji entered national politics, at that time Deve Gowda was one of the main critics of PM Modi’s national entry. Then, despite whatever he said at that time, after Modi Ji became PM, he went to meet him. Deve Gowda ji wanted to resign from his MP constituency, but Narendra Modi ji advised him that his advice was required and he must continue in parliament. This is the respect shown by the Prime Minister for Deve Gowda ji. After assuming the role of Prime Minister, they met several times, and each time the PM showed respect to Deve Gowda ji and sought his advice.”

He also discussed Deve Gowda’s political journey. “In 2018 Deve Gowda ji joined hands with Congress. Throughout his career of 60-62 years, he has always aligned with secular forces. By using regional parties, Congress has destroyed several regional parties. Congress has humiliated Deve Gowda ji in several ways.”

“In 1995, when this United Front supported Deve Gowda Ji as a PM candidate, they (the Congress) did not. When they removed him, they had no reason at all. Even at that time, he also supported Inder Kumar Gujral. In 2004, again, they ditched Deve Gowda Ji. That time also, he respected Congress, even though, at that time, Arun Jaitley met him to join hands with BjP. Deve Gowda ji rejected it. At that time, he also joined hands with Congress and after joining, he watched how they treated him for 20 months. Even at that time, the health of Deve Gowda Ji deteriorated,” he added.

He said, “Then, in 2009, he joined hands with the third front. That is a different issue. Then, even after Deve Gowda ji handed over the power to the BJP at that time again, his Congress friend wanted to split our party. Continuously, they were trying to destroy our party. Even after this, Deve Gowda Ji joined hands with Congress only.”

When asked why his party did that, he said he made several wrong decisions by trusting his Congress friends. “I am totally against Congress. I know how they are going to treat us and how they treated me as the Chief Minister.”

Hitting back at the Congress’ remark where it slammed the JD (S) for joining hands with the NDA and opined that the party should write to the Election Commission and drop the word ‘secular’ from their party’s name, HD Kumaraswamy said, “What is the meaning of secularism? I wanted to question the Congress. Every day they are misusing the caste composition; they are using the caste composition and they wanted to get benefit from it for their party.”

“According to me, there is no meaning to secularism or communalism. For example, let’s talk about DMK. They joined hands with the Centre, with both the Congress and the BJP. Whatever the reason was, they took the decision in their own interest, not for secularism or communalism,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kannur, Kerala:

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan rejected the statement made by HD Deve Gowda, in which former Prime Minister claimed that Pinarayi Vijayan had endorsed his choice to collaborate with the BJP. Pinarayi Vijayan further voiced his discontent with Deve Gowda’s assertions, terming his statement as “untrue” and “absurd”.

This comes after Deve Gowda on Thursday asserted that all state units of the JD(S), including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Maharashtra, gave their consent to align with the BJP.

“In Kerala, the Janata Dal has been remaining with the Left Democratic Front for a long. The state leadership of Janata Dal has the legacy of remaining strongly with the LDF irrespective of the political flip-flops of its central leadership. However, CPI(M) has never tried to voice opinions on the internal issues of that party. As Chief Minister, neither have I intervened in their party affairs. It is totally against our mode of functioning. We are not responsible for their thoughtlessness,” he stated.

He further said that Deve Gowda himself should correct his absurd statement, as it would be a matter of propriety and ethics.

“The Kerala unit of JDS has made it clear that they oppose the BJP and thus they are not with Deve Gowda. Their state president Mathew T Thomas and minister K Krishnankutty have categorically said that the statement made by Deve Gowda is untrue,” he added.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that it is not the first time that Deve Gowda has aligned with the BJP and further accused Deve Gowda of “betraying” his party’s ideology by aligning with the BJP to secure the chief minister’s seat for his son, Kumaraswamy.

“We all may remember Janata Dal aligning with the BJP in 2006. Deva Gowda betrayed the ideology of his own party in order to ensure the Chief Minister’s post for his son. Those in Janata Dal in Kerala are the ones who left the party along with the national leader Surendra Mohan in protest against the deceitful stance of Deva Gowda,” he added.

The Congress which has now responded to Deva Gowda’s allegations for political gains, have a history of helping the BJP in several ways and times, he said.

“In Kerala, they are sharing power with the BJP in local self-government institutions. No one has forgotten the story of Congress and BJP coming together for the victory of film actress Sumalatha in Mandya, Karnataka, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Sumalatha has now aligned with the BJP,” Kerala Chief Minister stated.

Congress should not ridicule itself by reciting Deve Gowda’s claim of an ‘illicit affair’, he added.

“There will be those in Congress who have had connections with the BJP and have benefited from it. They are the ones who have come out with the statements now, said the Chief Minister,” he said.

Earlier on Thursday, the former PM said, “In Kerala, we are part of the government and our MLA is a minister there. These units understood the situation that made us go with the BJP and supported our move. Our minister in the Left party’s government (K Krishnankutty) in Kerala has given consent to us.”

“Kerala’s Left government’s Chief Minsiter Vijayan has given full concurrence to move forward in Karnataka with the BJP to save the party. This is the position,” Deve Gowda claimed.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bengaluru:

The Janata Dal (Secular) rebuffed an approach by Nitish Kumar to merge with his Janata Dal (United) and join the INDIA opposition bloc, party patriarch HD Deve Gowda said today, two weeks after the Karnataka outfit allied with the BJP to contest next year’s general election.

Mr Deve Gowda said he was approached four months ago with a “Janata Freedom Front” proposal – to consist of ex-Janata Dal parties – but was told, “I don’t agree. I am not interested in national posts… am 91 and have seen how the Congress ditched me. I don’t want any experiments at this age. “

“… about three-four months back Nitish Kumar contacted me to form a front – JDU-JDS and even Samajwadi Party, with several groups of earlier Janata Dal wanted to form a Janata Freedom Front.”

“Nitish sent his party president and senior leaders to persuade me… but I did not agree. I told him, ‘if you feel like moving forward, then you can contact other parties’,” Mr Deve Gowda said.

Nitish Kumar’s JDU and the Congress are both in the INDIA bloc, as are a few other ex-Janata Dal parties, including the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Samajwadi Party.

The JDS outreach was likely part of several made to high-profile non-BJP leaders by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in his role as interlocutor for opposition unity ahead of the 2024 election.

Getting the JDS to come on board failed, Mr Deve Gowda seemed to indicate, due to tensions with the Congress. “They are thinking they will ‘finish’ JDS in Karnataka,” Mr Deve Gowda told NDTV. “Congress did no talking (with the JDS about INDIA).”

READ | “Have To Save Party In Karnataka”: HD Deve Gowda Defends JDS-BJP Alliance

Mr Deve Gowda also had sharp words for Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, “Congress’ Siddaramaiah… who I brought up in politics… said that if JDS comes, he will walk out.”

READ | “Are They Secular Now?”: Siddaramaiah’s Jibe At JDS Over Alliance With BJP

“I don’t want to discuss anymore. I have suffered,” he said as he chuckled over Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s 2018 jibe – that the JDS is the BJP’s ‘B team’. That jibe was repeated last week.

“No, RG gave ‘B team of BJP certificate’. Not (just) in last election but previous one also… “

READ |“BJP B-Team Now Officially Part of NDA”: Congress On Kumaraswamy’s Party

The JDS and Congress formed the government after the 2018 election. Mr Deve Gowda’s son, HD Kumaraswamy, was Chief Minister but they split soon after, after lawmakers joined the BJP.

Last month, the JDS joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance – in a move fiercely criticised by ex-allies Congress, which rushed to question its “secular credentials”.

READ |BJP, JDS Come Together In Karnataka Ahead Of Big 2024 Polls. NDTV Explains

The JDS was seen as nearing irrelevance after a third consecutive poor Assembly polls result; in the May election it won just 19 seats – down from 37 in 2018 and 40 five years earlier.

The Congress romped to victory in May, winning 135 of 224 seats to oust the BJP.

The BJP-JDS alliance has been questioned by some, including leaders within each party, but others see sense in allying with an outfit that still has sway in eight Lok Sabha segments and over Vokkalinga voters, including areas in which the Congress made inroads in the May poll.

Details about seat-sharing between the two have not yet been revealed. Mr Deve Gowda said these talks are to begin after Dussehra, which is on October 24. However, he was keen to underline his party remains secular and “won’t take lessons in so-called secularism”.

“We have enough experience… we know how to protect minorities and other marginalised sections. I don’t want to make tall claims but, in 60 years of my political career, I have done it to the best of my ability. We will never let down any minority group – not just Muslims.”