JD(S) Legislature Party leader H D Kumaraswamy breathed fire after his party’s Rajya Sabha candidate D Kupendra Reddy lost the election on Friday for which he blamed the Congress and a section of his own MLAs.
Two JD(S) MLAs defied the party - Kolar MLA Srinivas Gowda voted for the Congress while Gubbi MLA S R Srinivas is suspected to have voted for the BJP.
“I voted for the Congress because I love it,” Gowda told reporters. He also said that he is upset with Kumaraswamy. In response, Kumaraswamy asked Gowda to resign immediately if he had any “self-respect and shame.” He also slammed Gubbi Srinivas and wondered if he is fit to be an elected representative.
However, two other disgruntled JD(S) MLAs G T Deve Gowda and K M Shivalinge Gowda did not cross-vote.
This is the second consecutive Rajya Sabha election in which the JD(S) has suffered from cross-voting. In 2016, eight JD(S) MLAs, including B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan who is now with the Congress, had voted against the party’s official candidate B M Farooq.
“Congress is doing low-level politics by hijacking our MLAs,” Kumaraswamy said, slamming Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah. “In 2016, Siddaramaiah was the chief minister when he got eight of our MLAs to cross-vote. And, he talks about saving democracy. Do Congress leaders have any respect for the Constitution? How is the Congress any different from the BJP? he fumed.
Further, Kumaraswamy accused the Congress of helping the BJP win. “What did you achieve with Gowda’s vote? With what face and morality will you fight the BJP?” he said, asking the Congress.
The former chief minister said he had requested a few Congress MLAs for their second-preference votes for Reddy. “But, Congress leaders had decided not to give us second preference votes at any cost,” he said.
In the run-up to the election day, Kumaraswamy had offered a partnership with the Congress and had hoped to pave the way for a “fresh political chapter” in Karnataka. “That door is closed,” he said, vowing to never ally with the Congress.