Bengaluru: Offering to trade second preference votes with the Congress, Janata Dal-Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday said his main agenda is to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party in the contest for fourth seat, during the June 10 Rajya Sabha polls from Karnataka. The former chief minister also claimed that even if JD-S manages to get 22 second preferential votes from the Congress, it will be in a leading position.Six candidates are in the fray for the Rajya Sabha poll to four seats from Karnataka, necessitating a heated contest for the fourth seat. Despite not having the adequate number of votes to win the fourth seat from the state assembly, all the three political parties in the state -- BJP, Congress and JD-S -- have fielded candidates for the seat, forcing an election."I'm even now ready for this... My main agenda is that BJP should face a defeat, I'm ready for it. After Congress general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala called me, I calculated and have personally informed him that we (JD-S) are ready to transfer our 32 second preference votes to Congress, but want their (Congress’s) 24 second preference votes in return," Kumaraswamy said. Speaking to reporters, he said he doesn't have a better offer than this to make and asked Congress to prove its secular commitment by supporting a secular party, and thereby “begin a new politics to save the state”.Congress legislature party leader Siddaramaiah is the only person opposed to this offer, he further said, adding that "when JD-S candidate D Kupendra Reddy met state Congress chief D K Shivakumar to seek support, I too spoke to him over the phone and requested for support to defeat the BJP."The six candidates in the fray for Rajya Sabha polls from the state are Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, actor-politician Jaggesh and outgoing MLC Lehar Singh Siroya from the BJP; former Union minister Jairam Ramesh and state general secretary Mansoor Ali Khan from the Congress; and former MP D Kupendra Reddy from the JD-S.Kumaraswamy said the Congress's general secretary in-charge spoke to him over the phone on June 2 and requested their support."Yesterday I spoke to Surjewala over phone once again, and told him that I have spoken to our MLAs regarding his request, and we were ready to give our 32 second preference votes to the Congress's second candidate and asked for their 24 second preference votes in return. He (Surjewala) said he will send someone for a discussion, but no one has come till now."Despite the JD-S seeking support to ensure Reddy's election to the Upper House of Parliament, the Congress did not withdrawn its second candidate Khan from the fray and has issued a whip to all its MLAs asking them to vote for the party's candidates.A candidate needs the support of 45 MLAs to win, and based on their strength in the legislative assembly, the BJP can win two seats and the Congress one.After getting two Rajya Sabha candidates (Sitharaman and Jaggesh) elected on its own strength in the assembly, the BJP will be left with an additional 32 MLAs votes.The Congress will be left with 24 MLAs votes after electing Jairam Ramesh, while the JD-S has only 32 MLAs, which is not sufficient to win a seat.Counting of votes will take place on June 10 at 5 pm, which is after the polling hours.Official sources said as there are three candidates for the fourth seat and none of them has the adequate number of votes to win, a situation may arise where the second and third preferential votes may have to be counted if necessary.There are talks within political circles that the BJP may be at an advantage if preferential votes were to be counted and Congress and JD-S don't come to any understanding.Accusing the Congress of fielding a second candidate for RS polls with an intention to ensure BJP's victory, Kumaraswamy hit out at Siddaramaiah for expressing confidence about getting a "vote of conscience" from JD-S and BJP MLAs for their second candidate, and asked how can he expect other party MLAs to vote for the Congress when the elections are held by open ballot. "How will you win? Yesterday you (Siddaramaiah) had said that the Congress will get a vote of conscience. Does vote of conscience mean getting votes for money or getting votes through defection?" he asked.The June 10 RS polls is ammunition for the JD-S to prove that the regional party is not the B-team of the BJP, Kumaraswamy said, adding that "the mask of a leader (Siddaramaiah) who called us the B-team of BJP will fall, and people of the state will know who is the real B team."—PTI

Offering to trade second preference votes with the Congress, Janata Dal-Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday said his main agenda is to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party in the contest for fourth seat, during the June 10 Rajya Sabha polls from Karnataka.

Kumaraswamy offers to swap second preference votes with Congress in RS polls

Bengaluru: A day ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls for four seats from Karnataka, Janata Dal-Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy on Thursday strongly urged the Congress to support his party candidate to strengthen 'secular forces'. In a series of tweets, the former Chief Minister said to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress should support the JD-S, which has more votes than it.'The JD(S) has fielded Kupendra Reddy as its first candidate in the Rajya Sabha election. He is an entrepreneur, social worker and a progressive thinker. He is an experienced Rajya Sabha member and all parties must extend support to him with open mind. To strengthen the secular forces Congress must fully support Kupendra Reddy,' Kumaraswamy said.'To defeat the BJP, Congress should support the JD-S which has more votes than it. There is no doubt that history and people will decide in future based on the outcome of this election result. I firmly believe that honourable Randeep Singh Surjewala (AICC General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka) will understand this point,' he added. The talks between the Congress and JD-S to find some kind of a partnership aimed at defeating the ruling BJP in the contest for the fourth seat to Rajya Sabha polls from Karnataka seems to have reached a deadlock, with both parties firmly sticking to their stand.Kumaraswamy had made an offer to trade second preference votes with the Congress, but the main opposition party on Wednesday made it clear to the JD-S that it was now time for it to return the favour, pointing out that former prime minister H D Deve Gowda got elected to Rajya Sabha last time with its support in June 2020.Six candidates are in the fray in the Rajya Sabha elections for four seats from Karnataka, necessitating a tight contest for the fourth seat.Despite not having the adequate number of votes to win the fourth seat from the state assembly, all the three political parties in the state -- the BJP, the Congress and the JD-S -- have fielded candidates for the seat, forcing an election.The six candidates in the fray for Rajya Sabha polls from the state are -- Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, actor-politician Jaggesh and outgoing MLC Lehar Singh Siroya from the BJP, former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh and state general secretary Mansoor Ali Khan from the Congress, and former MP D Kupendra Reddy from the JD-S.Ignoring JD-S' request for support, the Congress did not withdraw its second candidate Khan from the fray and issued a whip to all its MLAs asking them to vote for the party's candidates.A candidate needs the support of 45 MLAs to win and based on their strength in the Legislative Assembly, the BJP can win two seats and the Congress one.After getting two Rajya Sabha candidates (Sitharaman and Jaggesh) elected on its own strength in the assembly, the BJP will be left with an additional 32 MLA votes.The Congress will be left with 24 MLA votes after electing Jairam Ramesh, while the JD-S has only 32 MLAs, which is not sufficient to win a seat.Counting of votes will take place on June 10 at 5 pm, which is after the polling hours. Official sources said, as there are three candidates for the fourth seat and none of them have adequate number of votes to win, a situation may arise where the second and third preferential votes may have to be counted if necessary.There is also a view that the BJP may be at an advantage if preferential votes were to be counted and the Congress and JD-S don't come to any understanding or if there is no cross-voting.—PTI

A day ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls for four seats from Karnataka, Janata Dal-Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy on Thursday strongly urged the Congress to support his party candidate to strengthen 'secular forces'.

Amid impasse over Rajya Sabha nominees, Kumaraswamy reaches out to Cong

Soumitra Bose
New Delhi (The Hawk): Kumaraswamy cribs… Former Karnataka CM and now aiming for snatching CMship from the Congress, Haradanahalli Devegowda Kumaras-wamy or simply, K’Swamy fumes, frets. as he accuses the current state government of ‘insulting 6.5 crore Kannadigas’: Kumaraswamy slams move to send IAS officers to welcome Opposition lead. JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy alleged that the Congress has introduced ‘IAS bonded labour’ in the state and has started a new form of ‘political, administrative colonialism’. The Congress government in Karnataka has come under fire from the JD(S) for deputing senior IAS officers to welcome leaders from various Opposition parties, who arrived in Bengaluru on Monday to take part in a mega Opposition party meeting on Tuesday.
Tweeting out the list of officers sent to welcome the leaders, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy slammed the government for “conducting the final rites of Karnataka’s pride, heritage and self-esteem”. It was wrong to send IAS officers to welcome politicians arriving from other states, he said on Tuesday.
“This is not a government programme, nor the swearing-in of a new government. This was just a political meeting. Sending responsible officers to welcome these leaders is an insult to 6.5 cr Kannadigas and is a great tragedy,” he said. Deputing the officers to welcome political leaders, Kumaraswamy alleged, reflected the arrogance of the ruling Congress government. “This is a clear violation of IAS service rules. I am shocked that the officials agreed to do this even after knowing that agreeing to welcome the leaders would hurt their dignity,” he said, demanding a response from the chief secretary on the issue. The purported list, shared by Kumaraswamy, names several prominent IAS officers including Anbu Kumar, K P Mohan Raj, V Ponnuraj, C Shikha, M T Reju, Dr Thrilok Chandra K V and Vishal R, among others. The former Karnataka chief minister alleged that the Congress, which believes in capitalism, has introduced “IAS bonded labour” in the state and has started a new form of “political, administrative colonialism”. The former Karnataka chief minister alleged that the Congress, which believes in capitalism, has introduced “IAS bonded labour” in the state and has started a new form of “political, administrative colonialism”. JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy on Tuesday accused the Congress government in Karnataka of introducing “IAS bonded labour policy" in the State by deputing 30 IAS officers to "serve" its alliance leaders, meeting in the city to strategise for the 2024 Lok Sabha election. The former Chief Minister said IAS officers are symbols of State’s ability and efficiency, and deputing these officials as "door keepers" to serve politicians is in clear violation of All India Services (Conduct ) Rules. Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress chief, maintained that due protocol for state guests has been followed. "In its greed to wrest power by forging an alliance, Congress has performed last rites for pride, heritage and self esteem of Karnataka. It is wrong on part of @INCKarnataka to depute IAS officers to serve its alliance leaders. Is this what they meant walk the talk?" Kumaraswamy asked in a tweet sharing a list of names of IAS officer's who are deputed to host the political leaders attending the meeting. "This is neither a state government programme, nor the swearing in ceremony of a new government. It is just a political meeting. Deputing responsible officers to host its alliance political leaders is a grave injustice done to 6.5 crore Kannadigas and a great insult to the state," he said. With a call for unity, top leaders of 26 opposition parties began crucial deliberations on Monday to chalk out their joint programme aimed at defeating the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, chief ministers M K Stalin, Nitish Kumar, Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren and RJD chief Lalu Prasad were among those who attended the dinner meeting on Monday, where discussions are on to finalise the agenda for the formal talks starting this morning. Noting that IAS officers are symbols of State’s ability and efficiency, and they play a key role in State’s development, Kumaras-wamy said deputing these officials as "door keepers" to serve politicians reflects the height of the arrogance of the ruling party. "This is clear violation of All India Services (Conduct ) Rules. I was surprised and shocked that officials agreed to do this job knowing that it would dent their self-respect and honour. The Chief Secretary who issued such a controversial order is answerable to the people," he said. The former CM further alleged that the "Capitalist Congress party" has introduced “IAS bonded labour” policy in the State thus ushering a new colonial administrative system in the country. "Yes, Congress is always known for being infamous. That is the asset of the party with the hand symbol," he said, accusing the Congress of showing extreme arrogance to Kannadigas for their mistake of giving 135 seats. …In view of this, the moot question is, is Kumaraswamy right and is he indirectly threatening the Congress Government of being uprooted from power via “the angry IAS and other Civil Servants in the state of Karnataka? The answer is yet to come, say insiders but they are abundantly amused at K’Swamy’s braggadocio.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 Kumaraswamy cribs… Former Karnataka CM and now aiming for snatching CMship from the Congress, 

Kumaraswamy Cribs

New Delhi: After meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah and Party President J P Nadda, Janada Dal (Secular) leader H D Kumaraswamy has agreed to ally with the BJP in Karnataka ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
I am glad that JD(S) has decided to be the part of National Democratic Alliance," Nadda remarked on X after the meeting. They have our unqualified support as they join the NDA. Because of this, NDA and the New India, Strong India vision of Hon. PM Narendra Modi Ji would be strengthened even further. The meeting was attended by Shah.
The JD(S), now led by former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, has been a formidable third force in the southern state, which has traditionally been dominated by the Congress and the BJP. However, the regional party saw its fortunes drastically dwindle in the recent assembly elections in the state, where the Congress recorded a significant win, relegating the BJP to a distant third.
Since the JD(S) has significant sway in south Karnataka, where the saffron party has historically been weak, the BJP, which heads the NDA, feels an alliance with the JD(S) will ensure its dominance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.—Inputs from Agencies

After meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah and Party President J P Nadda, Janada Dal (Secular) leader H D Kumaraswamy has agreed to ally with the BJP in Karnataka ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Kumaraswamy meets Shah, Nadda as JD(S) joins hands with BJP

Bengaluru (Karnataka): Karnataka Janata Dal (Secular) President, CM Ibrahim has expressed his disappointment over the party’s alliance with Bharatiya Janata Party and he said that “nothing should be hidden in politics.” CM Ibrahim told the media “HD Kumaraswamy is like a younger brother to me and Deve Gowda is like a father figure and I respect them. I am hurt that Kumaraswamy met with Amit Shah. Any decision of a party is taken by the Party President. Deve Gowda's leadership is the oldest in India. BJP should have come to Deve Gowda. I am hurt that Deve Gowda had to go to BJP. Kumaraswamy said that he has not told some things to the President, nothing should be hidden in politics.”
The JD(S) had on September 22 joined hands with the BJP-led NDA to take on the Congress party in Karnataka in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
JD(S) leader and former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy made the announcement of the tie-up after meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda in the national capital. CM Ibrahim further said that if he wanted he would have joined BJP a long time ago, when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister. “If you are making an alliance with the BJP, then who has accepted whom? If you have power, you don't need to ask for anything. If we wanted to join the BJP, I would have joined long back when Atal Bihari Vajpayee became the PM and offered me a ministry. We don't have anything personal. We respect each other. I respect PM Modi and Amit Shah. I'm still a party President. I'm an elected president," Ibrahim added. Following the announcement of the new alliance, JD(S) state vice president, Syed Shafiulla Saheb and other leaders including M Srikanth and UT Ayesha Farzana resigned from the party and reportedly there is discontent among several Muslim functionaries in the party. Kumaraswamy said “We will not disrespect any Muslim leader from the JDS-BJP alliance. We have discussed about the BJP-JDS alliance with JDS state president CM Ibrahim.”
—ANI

Karnataka Janata Dal (Secular) President, CM Ibrahim has expressed his disappointment over the party’s alliance with Bharatiya Janata Party

“Nothing should be hidden in politics:" JD(S) President CM Ibrahim on party's alliance with BJP

Bengaluru: JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda on Saturday said that the Karnataka state unit president C M Ibrahim and party national vice-president C K Nanu have been expelled from the party due to "anti-party activities".
After the national executive committee meeting, Gowda announced the decision to sack the two leaders.  Gowda said the image and the interests of the party were taking a beating due to which the decision was taken.
"A national executive meeting was convened in Bengaluru and a unanimous decision was taken for their ouster," Gowda said.  Mandya district JD(S) president D Ramesh and West Bengal JD(S) unit president Puneeth Kumar Singh, moved the resolution for the expulsion of Ibrahim and Nanu from the party at the executive meeting.  "The resolutions presented by these two were unanimously accepted by the executive," Gowda said.  Along with Gowda, former chief minister and party state president H D Kumaraswamy, all state unit presidents and executive members were present.  The action comes a day after expelled leader Ibrahim, a former Union Minister, announced convening a national-level meet in Bengaluru on December 11.  Ibrahim had rebelled against the party leadership for their decision to form an alliance with the BJP for the Lok Sabha elections.  He even claimed that his faction of JD(S) was the original one.
—PTI

JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda on Saturday said that the Karnataka state unit president C M Ibrahim

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Kumaraswamy offers to swap second preference votes with Congress in RS polls

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Kumaraswamy offers to swap second preference votes with Congress in RS polls

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