DK Shivakumar-HD Kumaraswamy meet fuels talk of Congress-JD(S) pact after Karnataka bypolls

HUBBALLI/BELAGAVI: Fickle weather and flight change led to an unscheduled parley between Vokkaliga heavyweights DK Shivakumar and former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy at Hubballi airport on Monday.
The Congress and JD(S) politicians spoke behind closed doors in the airport’s VIP lounge, reportedly discussing a possible post-poll alliance between the two parties in case BJP falls short of the six seats it needs to stay in power.
Veteran Congress figure and former Union minister M Veerappa Moily also provided fuel to the speculation about a patch-up between the two parties. He reiterated that Congress would join hands with JD(S) after the results of the bypolls were announced on December 9.
Moily, who was in Hunsur, Mysuru district, said the Congress high command would intervene and strike a deal and that currently, none of the state party members were opposed to the idea.
On who would lead the new alliance, Moily said the issue was inconsequential at this juncture, adding it would be decided later and the arrangement followed in Maharashtra had opened new avenues. Kumaraswamy’s authority as the head of the previous coalition government was repeatedly challenged by loyalists of Congress’s Siddaramaiah.
On Monday, Shivakumar was supposed to visit Belagavi to campaign for Congress candidates, but he cut short the trip after he was summoned by income tax officials in Bengaluru. He was waiting at Hubbali airport to board a flight for Bengaluru. Around the same time, Kumaraswamy, who had been travelling from Belagavi to Chikkaballapur for campaigning, was forced to land in Hubballi because of bad weather. The circumstances led to a chance meeting between the two.
Party sources said Kumaraswamy and Shivakumar spoke about burying differences for the time being and forging a 2018-like partnership to take on BJP. The developments in Maharashtra, where a three-party coalition of Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP outwitted BJP, featured prominently in the discussion.
The two refused to speak to media after the meeting.
JD(S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda, who was campaigning in Gokak, Belagavi district, took a different position on a possible alliance on Monday, days after hinting that he was open to a partnership with Sonia Gandhiled Congress. He said he would strengthen his party, keeping it away from both Congress and BJP.
“I have had experience (of running a government) with both parties. Keeping both at a distance, saying namasakara to both of them, I will work beyond my limits to strengthen my party,” he said.
Kumaraswamy, meanwhile, said in Belagavi he was not interested in becoming the chief minister again. He said senior Congressmen like Mallikarjun Kharge, Moily and Siddaramaiah might be commenting on a potential partnership based on their own calculations. “But things never go as per one’s calculations,” he said.
Kumaraswamy predicted JD(S) would win six to eight seats out the 15 constituencies where bypolls are scheduled.