The presence of leaders of several political parties at the swearing-in ceremony of HD Kumaraswamy as the chief minister of Karnataka last month does not mean they will come together for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Janata Dal (Secular) chief HD Deve Gowda said on Thursday, according to PTI. Kumaraswamy is Gowda’s son.
Top leaders from the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party, Aam Aadmi Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti had attended the ceremony in Bengaluru on May 23. It was seen as a preparation for the parties to form an alliance to counter the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre.
“It is not necessary that the parties which attended the swearing-in ceremony of Kumaraswamy as Karnataka chief minister will fight together in all states,” Deve Gowda said in New Delhi, where he was to attend a parliamentary panel meeting. The meeting was, however, postponed.
The former prime minister suggested that a third front against the BJP be formed soon as, according to him, the ruling party had given clear signals to its cadre to be ready for elections as early as November. “Going by the signal they are giving to states, there is a greater possibility of early polls,” he said, adding the monsoon session of parliament could be the last session.
He said he would meet leaders from other Opposition parties in coming days.
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