Daijiworld Media Network – Ballary (DC)
Ballary, Oct 31: JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda on Tuesday declared his support to Congress president Rahul Gandhi's candidature for Prime Minister's (PM) post in 2019.
Addressing a campaign rally in Ballary on October 30 in support of Congress candidate V S Ugrappa, Deve Gowda said, ""My party fully extends support to Rahul Gandhi for the PM post after the Lok Sabha polls in 2019. The support of Congress for an anti-BJP front will be crucial in forming the government after the Lok Sabha polls. I am ready to intervene to build a strong secular force to counter the communal BJP,"
However, he refused to reply to senior Congress leader P Chidambaram's statement that the party has not yet declared its PM candidate. "He is a senior leader, and I don't want to react to his statement," Deve Gowda said.
He also added that TDP chief Chandra Babu Naidu's efforts to knit a coalition of regional parties must be acknowledged.
"Naidu had played a key role in formation of the National Front government which I headed in 1996," he added.
While responding to media query on BSP led Mayavati's support he said, "Today, Mayawati is with us (JDS) in Karnataka. Tomorrow, she may come along with JDS and Congress in Uttar Pradesh too. Political circumstances may arise to bring BSP, SP and Congress together and in that scenario, I'm ready to intervene to build a strong secular force in the country to counter communal BJP,"