Deve Gowda, former Prime Minister of India, in an effort to extend an olive branch, has stated that he was willing to continue the coalition with Congress. This comes ahead of the Karnataka polls. He further added that he was open to continuing the alliance with the Congress for the by-polls to the 17 seats that fell vacant following the disqualification of the rebel MLAs.

Deve Gowda on the prevalent situation 

The former PM has stated, 'We must forget our internal differences considering the prevailing conditions in the country.' Gowda's statement on Thursday came after both the parties have been at loggerheads the past few weeks. Especially between him and Siddaramaiah, the former Chief Minister and Congress Legislature Party chief. The JD(S) leader told the people that the Congress needed to understand the urgency of the situation and cooperate. Gowda notified that the party was not insisting on contesting all the 17 seats that fell vacant. 

'We are not saying that we have to contest all 17 seats. In the past, we have voluntarily decided not to contest bypolls. In fact, [in 2017] they had fielded one of our party members as their candidate and won.' he said.

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Deve Gowda and Siddaramaiah at loggerheads

The first instance of conflict came from the former Chief Minister and Deve Gowda. Gowda blamed his former protege Siddaramaiah for the downfall of the previous government. He repeated this statement multiple times to prove his point. Deve Gowda also blamed the Congress high command for not asking for Siddaramaiah’s consent before making HDK as the Chief Minister for a full term of five years. It has been a little over a month since the collapse of the JDS-Congress government in Karnataka and display of unity has come crashing down creating a scene for the observers. 

READ: Cong-JDS Gloves Off: Deve Gowda Attacks, Siddaramaiah Slams Back