BJP’s outreach move ahead of Madarihat bypolls
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is gearing up for a 'public outreach' campaign in the Madarihat Assembly segment, as it seeks to retain the seat in an upcoming by-election.
The Congress has decided to support the JD(S) to form a government in Karnataka to keep the BJP out of power, senior party leader M Veerappa Moily said on Wednesday.
Asked if it was a good move to back the H D Deve Gowda-led outfit, the former Union minister told PTI: “It’s good or not…we are interested to keep the BJP away from power.”
On whether he was confident that Governor Vajubhai Vala would invite the JD(S) to form the government, Moily said he was bound to do it.
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“He (the governor) has to work as the constitutional head (of the state) and not as an agent of the BJP,” the former Karnataka chief minister said.
He added that according to the Supreme Court verdict on last year’s Goa Assembly polls, the governor was bound to call the group with the required numbers to form government and not the single-largest party.
With the Karnataka Assembly polls throwing up a hung verdict, the BJP, with 104 seats, has fallen short of the half-way mark of 112.
The Congress-JD(S) combine had moved quickly even as the counting of votes was underway yesterday and requested the governor to allow the formation of a JD(S)-led government in the southern state.
The two parties together have a clear majority in the 224-member Assembly.
Elections were held for 222 Assembly seats in Karnataka on May 12, while polling for the remaining two seats will be held later.
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