Notably, Karnataka vice President of JD(S) Syed Shafiulla Saheb tendered his resignation and quit the party. Highlighting the difference between the ideologies of the JD(S) and BJP, he said, “I have resigned from the JDS party following its decision to form an alliance with the BJP .The ideology of the JD(S) and BJP, which is based on Hindutva, are different”.

Further, other leaders including M Srikanth and UT Ayesha Farzana resigned from the party and reportedly there is discontent among several Muslim functionaries in the party

On Thursday, HD Deve Gowda binned allegations of unhappy workers quitting the party after the BJP tie up and accused Congress, which is the ruling party in Karnataka, of spreading false propaganda. 

“It is a negative propaganda made by Congress,” says former PM Deve Gowda on minority leaders quitting JD(S) over alliance with BJP.

Deve Gowda also said that a decision to ally with the Bharatiya Janata Party for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections was taken after consultation with his party colleagues.

“Before joining BJP, I took the views of our 19 MLAs and 8 MLCs who said that JD(S) should consider entering into an understanding with BJP,” Deve Gowda said.

Addressing a press conference here, the JD(S) chief said that he had not met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that he had met Home Minister Amit Shah for the first time in the last 10 years.

“We are not power-hungry politicians… I held a discussion with Home Minister Amit Shah for the first time in the last 10 years… I have not met PM Modi… I also explained the political situation in Karnataka to HM…” Deve Gowda said.

He further said that JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy will join the sit-in protest against the State government by former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa over the Cauvery water-sharing issue near the Gandhi statue in Bengaluru today.

The JD(S) had on 22 September joined hands with the BJP-led NDA to take on the Congress party in Karnataka in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

JD(S) leader and former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy made the announcement of the tie-up after meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda in the national capital.

The JD(S) had aligned with the Congress in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, however, the parties faced a drubbing as the BJP swept 25 out of the 28 seats in Karnataka while Congress and JDS secured one seat each and even an independent candidate supported by the BJP won from the Mandya constituency.

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Updated: 27 Sep 2023, 02:54 PM IST