File photo of JDS supremo HD Deve Gowda
Former Prime Minister and JDS supremo HD Deve Gowda today said his party has decided to join hands with the Congress for the Mayoral elections to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the city's civic body.
"Our party leaders including legislators have decided to join hands with Congress for the Mayoral election," he told reporters.
Mr Gowda's son and JDS president HD Kumaraswamy had on Monday made it clear that his party would join hands with Congress for Mayoral polls. The decision was taken at a meeting with the party's core group to discuss strategies for the election.
Mr Gowda said the final decision on the alliance would be taken in a meeting between KPCC President G Parameshwara, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Kumaraswamy.
"Mallikarjun Kharge, who is a senior Congress leader, had told our partymen to hold talks on the issue at state level since it is a matter concerning corporation poll and there is no need for intervention of High Command," he said.
Asked if his party had bargained for getting posts, Mr Gowda said, "there is no question of it because the party will get its pieces of cake based on its numerical strength."
"Except the post of the Deputy Mayor, my corporators will get two chairmanship posts and memberships of various BBMP committees, simply based on numerical strength," he said.
On allegations of "unethically" forging an alliance to keep the BJP out of power from BBMP, Mr Gowda cited instances of Congress-BJP, Congress-NCP and NCP-Shiva Sena alliances for mayoral elections in Maharashtra.
"There are innumerable instances - In Pune, Sharad Pawar forged NCP-Shiv Sena alliance - Do not get embarrassed, in Mumbai, Congress tied up with BJP for mayoral alliance. So there is no need for pondering over such allegations," he said.
To a query, Mr Gowda said nobody from the Congress and the BJP had approached him, except Union Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, who was not a representative of the BJP central leadership.
Upsetting the Congress' plans to wrest control of the BBMP council, the BJP won 100 wards out of 198 at the polls held on August 22. The Congress had bagged 76, JD(S) bagged 14 and others eight.
Besides Corporators, the 260-member BBMP Council includes 62 other members from Bengaluru with voting rights. They include Members of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, MLAs and MLCs.
With the magic number to gain control over BBMP being 131, the BJP's strength including non-corporator members stands at 125, Congress at 111, JDS 21 and others 13.