"Congress has limited presence....," says HD Deve Gowda

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in the country, Former Prime Minister and JD (S) Chief HD Deve Gowda on Monday lashed out at the Congress party pointing out its limited presence across the country.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in the country, Former Prime Minister and JD (S) Chief HD Deve Gowda on Monday lashed out at the Congress party pointing out its limited presence across the country. Devegowda took a swipe saying, "Congress has limited presence across just three states Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Telagana."

Regarding speculations about the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) potentially amending the Constitution if they secure 400 seats, Gowda asserted, "The Prime Minister of this country has made it categorically clear that there is no question of altering the Constitution. The PM has clarified that even if Ambedkar were to be reborn, he would not consider changing it." Emphasising the unity between the BJP and JDS alliance, Gowda confidently stated, "We are moving forward together, and no force can defeat our formidable combination."

Notably, the BJP's alliance partner, Janata Dal (Secular), is contesting from Mandya under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) this time. JD(S) leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy filed his nomination from the Mandya constituency earlier this month.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Sumalatha Ambareesh won as an independent, defeating JD (S) leader and HD Kumaraswamy's son, Nikhil Kumaraswamy and another independent, ML Shashikumar from Mandya. In the 2014 general elections, JD (S) leader CS Puttaraju won the seat against Congress candidate Remya pulling off 43.95 per cent vote share.

Karnataka, which has 28 Lok Sabha seats, will vote in two phases on April 26 and May 7. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress and JD-S fought together against the BJP and the combine was decimated. The BJP had won a record 25 seats; Congress and JD-S won just one seat each.

The Lok Sabha Elections 2024 will be held in seven phases, starting on April 19. The counting of votes is on June 4. (ANI)

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