Sharief in JD(S) bag, Gowda sharpens knife in Old Mysore

Bengaluru: In a development that signals his defection from Congress to Janata Dal (S) is a certainty, a miffed former Union minister C.K. Jaffer Sharief met JD (S) patriarch H.D. Deve Gowda here at the latter's home on Saturday.  

Sources in Dal (S) said the leaders discussed fielding Mr. Sharief from Mysore parliamentary constituency, the home-turf of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, during their closed-door meeting at Mr Gowda's residence.

With more than 3.5 lakh Muslim voters, and half that number of Vokkaligas, Mr Sharief would not only be able to garner the support of voters belonging to both communities but also gain an edge over Mr A.H. Vishwanath, the Congress candidate and confidant of Mr. Siddaramaiah.

 For the record, however, Mr Sharief declined to comment on “small issues” like contesting Lok Sabha elections only saying that he discussed “means of strengthening the hands of secular forces". When asked whether Congress was not a secular outfit, Mr Sharief remarked sarcastically: "I am an ordinary worker. What can I say? If that were true, in Muzaffarnagar when riots broke out, Congress-led UPA should have rushed after the SP government failed to take action. They were exposed."

Mr. Sharief insisted he would only take a decision on future plans after returning from 'Umrah' (pilgrimage to Mecca) but it was clear that it was a done deal.  
Mr. Deve Gowda said it was important for leaders like him and Mr Sharief to save the country from communal forces. "You see what is happening. The Congress is sinking day by day. It is sad that it could not take on communal forces. So, tall leaders like Mr Sharief have to come together to take on communal forces," he added.