Janata Dal (Secular) supremo HD Deve Gowda on Tuesday announced that their party will fight the Lok Sabha elections solo. During a press conference in Bengaluru, he also ruled out the possibility of an electoral tie-up with NDA.It is to be noted here that Gowdas son and former Chief Minister of Karnataka HD Kumaraswamy announce last week that his party would work together with the BJP against the Congress government on various issues. Notably, this has fuelled the speculation of the two parties joining hands for next years polls.Following the suspension of 10 BJP lawmakers for “indecent and disrespectful conduct” from the House, both the JD(S) and the BJP MLAs abstained from the Assembly session.“JD(S) will fight the Lok Sabha elections independently”, Deve Gowda told a news conference in Bengaluru.“Whether we (the party) win five, six, three, two, or one seat, we will fight the Lok Sabha elections independently”, he said. “We will field candidates only in those places where we are strong after consulting with our workers,” he added.After his prime ministerial tenure, Gowda was elected to the 12th (1998), 14th (2004), 15th, and 16th Lok Sabha, as Member of Parliament for the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency. He lost Lok Sabha elections in 2019 from Tumkuru but has been elected to Rajya Sabha since.
