The former Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy has not ruled out the possibility of the Congress patching up with the Janata Dal (Secular) once again in the event the ruling BJP failing to garner the required number of seats in the byelections to 15 Legislative Assembly constituencies.
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Mr. Reddy told reporters here on Saturday that all senior leaders of the Congress and the JD(S) such as Siddaramaiah, G. Parameshwara, H.D. Deve Gowda, and H.D. Kumaraswamy have been dropping sufficient hints on the formation of the new government after the byelection results are out. “You have to read between the lines of statements made by these leaders,” Mr. Reddy said.
On Friday, Dr. Parameshwara hinted at the possibility of coming together of the Congress and the JD(S) if the BJP failed to muster the required number of seats to have a majority in the Assembly. Mr. Gowda too has said that formation of the new government after the byelections would depend on Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah “Aaya Ram and Gaya Ram”, Mr. Reddy said the BJP’s “Operation Kamala” would not work in the coming days and that the saffron party’s leaders must learn to respect regional leaders and parties.
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Taking pot-shots at the Modi government’s policies, Mr. Reddy blamed the faulty economic policies for declining gross domestic product, unemployment, and slow growth in core sectors of the economy.
On similar lines, Rajya Sabha member B.K. Hariprasad too hinted at the Congress and the JD(S) aligning again in Karnataka.
He told reporters in Hubballi on Saturday that talks have already been held with Mr. Gowda, who had shown inclination towards realigning with the Congress. He said that if the Congress and the JD(S) realigned, the coalition would again come to power and that further developments depended on the party high command’s nod.