BENGALURU: Former prime minister and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda on Saturday expressed confidence that regional parties will join hands with the Congress at the Centre to defeat the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Addressing a joint press conference with former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and other Congress leaders in the city, the former PM said seat-sharing may be successful in some states and it may not be successful in some others, but that doesn’t mean the coalition has broken down.
“All regional parties will come together to ensure that the BJP does not come back to power after the 2019 elections. In Karnataka, we have taken the lead and joined hands. If we win all the five seats, it is going to have a major impact and give new dimension and direction ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls,” Gowda said.
Slamming the BJP for raking up communal issues ahead of polls, Gowda said the main aim of the BJP is to divide and rule, and there is a need to save the secular system in the country. Though the Congress and JD(S) have come together to defeat the BJP, they will maintain their own identity, he added.
Siddaramaiah said in the last four-and-half years, the BJP government at the Centre has delivered a major blow to the economy and people are suffering. All secular forces in the country have to come together to protect the nation from the communal forces.
“The Congress and JD(S) workers will work together to defeat the BJP in the bypolls. If need be, we will even campaign together to defeat the BJP, which is our common enemy,” he added.
Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Dinesh Gundu too slammed the Modi government and its policies.