Janata Dal (S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy on Sunday blamed his party’s alliance with the Congress for its rout in the series of bypolls held after the 2018 Assembly elections.
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Participating in an interactive programme organised by the Mysuru District Journalists Association here, he expressed regret over the fact that the JD(S) bit the dust in the series of bypolls to the Assembly held after the 2018 polls, “all because of the alliance with the Congress”.
Claiming that the party had lost its strength because of the alliance with the Congress, he said the JD(S) was now forced to build itself up from the scratch for the 2023 Assembly elections.
Vowing not to go anywhere near the Congress or BJP, Mr. Kumaraswamy said he would strive to bring the JD(S) to power independently. Recalling the hurt he experienced during his association with the Congress even after the 2004 Assembly polls, he said an answer to all the insults heaped upon the party would be given in 2023.
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Though he expressed confidence that the JD(S) would perform well in the coming bypolls to Hangal and Sindgi, Mr. Kumaraswamy was hopeful of the winning the constituencies in 2023. He recalled the victory of the Congress party in the bypolls to Gundlupet and Nanjangud in 2017 and then its loss in the Assembly elections in the subsequent year.
The former Chief Minister also said that Congress leader Siddaramaiah, during the campaign for the bypolls, had sought to share the credit for the loan waiver extended during the coalition Government’s tenure. “But the Congress was only particular that the Bhagya programmes launched by the Siddaramaiah Government were not discontinued. It was I who increased the Budget from ₹2.09 lakh crore, presented by Mr. Siddaramaiah before the elections, to ₹2.19 lakh crore subsequently to accommodate the loan waiver. There was no support from the Congress for the loan waiver.”