Reports: A Significant Section Of JD(S) Legislative Party Urges Party Leadership To Extend Support To BJP Government

In yet another potential sign of a dramatic twist in the ongoing political saga in Karnataka, a significant number of the Janata Dal ( S) legislators has urged the deposed chief minister H D Kumaraswamy to support the newly installed BJP government led by BS Yediyurappa , Deccan Herald reported.

At a meeting of JD(S) legislative party held at an upscale hotel in Bengaluru , where Kumaraswamy operates from, a vociferous group of party legislators wanted support to be extended to BJP, either by joining the government or supporting it from the outside.

Senior party leader and former state minister G.T Deve Gowda confirmed the development to the media.

Speaking to the press after the meeting, former minister GT Deve Gowda said that the several legislators stridently supported the idea of joining hands with BJP.

"We (MLAs) discussed the future course of action. Some have suggested that we should sit in the opposition, while some legislators are of the opinion that we should support the BJP from outside." Deve Gowda said

However Gowda quickly added that the party legislators unanimously decided to leave the decision up to Kumaraswamy.

Interestingly Deve Gowda, who was the higher education minister in the previous minister and an influential leader from Old Mysore region, had earlier said that being a member of the JD(S) will not prevent him from appreciating the good work of Prime Minister Modi and the central government. Speculations were rife in political circles that Deve Gowda was planning to switch allegiance to BJP.

The BJP and JD(S) had formed a coalition government in 2006 with Kumaraswamy as chief minister and Mr Yediyurappa as his deputy, under a power sharing formula of 20 months each. However the coalition government had collapsed as the JD(S) did not transfer power to BJP, paving the way for the party to win elections in 2008.

The new development came on a day state BJP chief Yediyurappa was sworn in as chief minister for a fourth time. Shortly after taking the oath, Yediyurappa said that he would move a motion of confidence in the Assembly on July 29, to prove his majority.