Bangalore: Former prime minister and Janata Dal-Secular president H D Deve Gowda yesterday denied his party had entered into a tie-up to fight the August 21 bypolls to two Lok Sabha seats from Karnataka.
“Reports of a tie-up or understanding with the Bharatiya Janata Party are baseless,” he told reporters here.
However, the ruling Congress asserted that the JD-S had entered into an “understanding” with the BJP.
The elections are being held for Bangalore Rural and Mandya Lok Sabha seats as H D Kumarasway, Gowda’s son, and N Cheluvarayasway of JD-S quit after winning the Karnataka assembly election on May 5.
Mandya is about 80km from Bangalore.
State BJP chief Pralhad Joshi has been saying that Kumaraswamy had approached the party for an understanding and talks were on.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah yesterday maintained that “JD-S and BJP understanding will help the Congress win both the seats”.
“True colours of JD-S have been exposed and people know who is secular and who is communal,” he told reporters here.
JD-S has fielded Kumaraswamy’s wife Anita Kumaraswamy for the Bangalore Rural seat. Her Congress opponent is D K Suresh, brother of Congress legislator and former minister D K Shivakumar.
For the Mandya seat, Congress has fielded popular Kannada actress Ramya while the JD-S nominee is former legislator C.S. Puttaraju.
Counting is due on August 24.
IANS
