The Karnataka state president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, BS Yeddyurappa, on Friday indicated that his party was ready to woo dissident leaders from the ruling Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) combine, The Hindu reported.
“Several leaders from the Congress and the JD(S) are willing to join the BJP,” Yeddyurappa said while addressing party’s state executive committee meeting in Bengaluru. “I want our leaders to shun insecurity over the entry of leaders from other parties. You should go to their houses and convince them to join the party.”
Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy’s Janata Dal (Secular), which won 37 out of the 222 Assembly seats that went to the polls on May 12, has partnered with the Congress, which has 78 seats, to form the government.
Yeddyurappa said there were clear indications that the coalition government would not last long. The former chief minister added that the party will be patient and not make any move in haste, considering the “instability” in the coalition.
“The unholy alliance between the Congress and JD(S) will undo itself and is not likely to last the entire five years,” he said, according to The Times of India. “We will wait till the Budget is presented and then take the next step.”
BJP National General Secretary P Muralidhar Rao said the party has an “open invitation” for those “who have realised that siding with the anti-nationals is not the future of India”. He also praised former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah “voicing his opposition to coalition decisions.” In a video telecast on TV9 Kannada, Siddaramaiah was heard speaking sceptically about the coalition government completing its five-year term.
The BJP had won 104 seats in the elections, and was invited first to form the government though the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) post-poll alliance had a clear majority. The alliance moved the Supreme Court against Governor Vajubhai Vala’s decision to invite the BJP. The top court gave BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa a day to prove his majority in the Assembly, but he resigned as chief minister without facing the trust vote.
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