Mysuru: Scared Congress softens tone against us, says H D Kumaraswamy

Mysuru: Denying that the party was heading for an alliance with the Congress, state Janata Dal (Secular) chief H D Kumaraswamy claimed on Thursday that it had thawed in its attitude to it on account of its internal surveys that were not very encouraging about its prospects in the coming poll.

"Having realised that the Congress will not get a majority, its leaders (like Energy Minister D K Shivakumar) are now speaking to us in a kinder tone. But we will not join hands with anyone," he asserted.

Responding to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's claim that the JD (S) and BJP were two faces of the same coin, Mr Kumaraswamy shot back, "There is an unofficial alliance between CM Siddaramaiah and the BJP. It is Mr Siddaramaiah, who has intimate contact with the BJP as just days before the elections, the BJP candidate for Varuna has disappeared. People have understood what this means and it will work to the JD(S)'s advantage. We have come up with our own strategy to win in Varuna."

The JD(S) leader went on to add that it was not he, but Mr Siddaramaiah who was dreaming of becoming Chief Minister again. "I am only appealing to the people to give me an opportunity. Siddaramaiah is proving that he is casteist by using leaders of three castes in Badami. This will not work as both he and Sriramulu are outsiders. But our Janata Dal (Secular) candidate there, Hanumantha Maavinamarada is a son of the soil. So we will win there too,” Mr Kumaraswamy declared.

Mr Kumaraswamy later felicitated his party worker and Siddalingapura gram panchayat member, Mariswamy for openly rejecting Mr Siddaramaiah's invitation to join the Congress and his fearless argument with him at Hale Kesare in Chamundeshwari constituency on Wednesday.