BENGALURU: There has been a great deal of speculation regarding pre-poll political alliances in the state on the eve of the BBMP and Assembly elections. A meeting between Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy with JD(S) supremo Deve Gowda on Tuesday did not yield much for the Congress by way of support, making the equations even more uncertain. The former Prime Minister is reported to have reiterated his party’s demand that they be given the mayor’s post.
The Mayoral elections are scheduled for September 28 and both BJP and Congress want to woo JD(S), which has played kingmaker in the past. After meeting with Deve Gowda, the Home Minister who met him on the instructions of Chief Minister Siddaramiah, said that it was conveyed to him that the JD(S) wants the Mayoral post and would not be interested in continuing the coalition with Congress otherwise.
While there is a good chance that JD(S) may continue its alliance with Congress, Deve Gowda did not give any decisive answers to Reddy, saying that the decision would be left to H D Kumaraswamy. “I have left the final decision on the Mayoral elections to Kumaraswamy. I have told Ramalinga Reddy to meet him as well,” said Deve Gowda.
Kumaraswamy even claimed that he had no idea as to why Ramalinga Reddy had met the JD(S) supremo Deve Gowda. “I have no idea why they met. All our corporators want us to fight for the Mayor’s post. Right now, I am discussing this with all our senior leaders including Parliamentarian Kupendra Reddy,” Kumaraswamy said.