Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 9 (ANI): Ahead of the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in Karnataka, former state chief minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy on Thursday urged the Congress to give its second preferential votes to JDS, if it really wanted to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party.
“After the filing of nominations by all parties, I am consistently requesting congress friends, if their intention is to defeat BJP, then you please sit and discuss,” Kumaraswamy told ANI.
He further said, “We are requesting congress to please transfer their second preferential vote to us. We will transfer our 32 votes to your party, for which they are not agreeing, rather they are pressurising me to withdraw my candidate. How can I withdraw my candidate with 32 MLAs?” he said while accusing Congress of making attempts to destabilize their MLAs.
He accused the party of playing double games. “Today, Siddaramaiah told before several mediapersons about how they contacted JDS MLAs.. one side they are pressurising MLAs, another side they are criticising them openly,” he said.
He concluded the interaction by saying that he only requests and expects all the MLAs to stay united and said, “until now, my confidence is that all 32 will be with us.”
Notably, former Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah had written to JDS MLAs to support congress candidate Mansoor Ali Khan in the Rajya Sabha elections. (ANI)