Mysore/Mysuru: “Unsure of their ability to come to power on their own, both the national parties are knocking the doors of JD(S),” said JD(S) leader and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy (HDK) at a press conference held at the office of K.R. Nagar MLA S.R. Mahesh in city. 

Reacting to the reports that BJP and Congress are trying to woo JD(S) leaders in Old Mysuru region, Kumaraswamy said that even then both the parties are not confident of capturing power on their own. “I am not worried about who is going where, I am only interested in strengthening JD(S),” he added.

Agreeing that the defection from his party may result in setback to the party, he hoped that there will be no confusions in the party thereafter. “We have already proved the strength of our party through ‘Janata Jaladhare.’ It was a historic event and to attract such a big crowd is not possible even to national parties. The event demonstrated the relevance of JD(S) and this is only a beginning. We are now confident of winning 123 seats in the 2023 Assembly elections and there is already a JD(S) wave in the State,” he claimed.

Disclosing that JD(S) has already decided to field a party candidate for the coming Rajya Sabha elections from the State, Kumaraswamy said that there is no question of giving support to any national party. “As per the present strength of the parties in the Assembly, BJP can win two seats and Congress one. They both cannot win another seat with the additional votes they have. Since the JD(S) has more votes than the combined additional votes of BJP and Congress, we have also fielded our candidate. Our decision is clear in the matter. The issue of electing Member to the State Legislative Council will be discussed at Party Legislature meeting,” he added.