Bengaluru: Ahead of the Assembly election, the JD(S) on Tuesday announced that it will be organising a mega rally on the outskirts of Bengaluru on Feb.17.

Stating that the JD(S) does not want to hinder the movement of the common man by hosting the mega rally within city limits, former CM and State JD(S) President H.D. Kumaraswamy said that the party will be hosting its rally in Yelahanka on a 140 acre private property.

Declaring that the JD(S) will announce its first list of 140 candidates in the presence of former PM H.D. Deve Gowda and its pre-poll alliance partner Bahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) supremo Mayawati at the rally, the former CM said that these candidates will take oath to remain sincere to the party.

Maintaining that the alliance with the BSP is genuine and is intended to help dalits get justice, Kumaraswamy reiterated that the party will make a dalit leader as deputy Chief Minister if JD(S) was elected to power.

Pointing out that the JD(S) is in talks with the left parties, Kannada organisations and pro-farmer organisations for a rainbow alliance, he said the JD(S) is ready to forgo an additional 20 seats in favour of smaller parties, to ensure that the Congress and BJP do not gain the upper hand. He further said that despite his intention to give tickets to all sitting JD(S) MLAs, some of them have decided to step aside due to personal reasons.