BENGALURU: BJP leaders from Mandya district have openly advised the party against any alliance with JDS in the upcoming local body elections, firing the first public shots after former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda declared that his party would go solo at the grassroots level.
Leading the charge, former minister KC Narayana Gowda told TNIE, “JDS leader HD Deve Gowda said his party will go alone in the local body elections and so we are only responding to that.’’ BJP had earlier accused JDS of ingratitude after BJP sacrificed its claim to the Mandya Lok Sabha seat that led to HD Kumaraswamy’s victory.
Narayana Gowda is a former JDS MLA who joined BJP along with other MLAs. The switching of parties had then brought down the coalition government of JDS and Congress, when Kumaraswamy was CM.
Former MP and BJP leader Sumalatha Ambareesh joined the chorus, saying there has been “no clarity” on ties between the two parties after Gowda’s announcement on going solo. But at the same time, she said she would abide by the high command’s decision.
The revolt exposes a strain in the NDA partnership.