Bengaluru: With the BJP falling short of the majority mark of 112 in Karnataka, the Congress has reached out to the JD(S) offering to support to it from outside. The JD(S) has agreed to the offer.
According to reports, the Congress has offered to support JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda's son HD Kumarawamy as chief minister if the party agrees to an alliance.
With nearly 80 seats in the bag, and JD(S)' close to 40, the Congress will have more than the required 112 MLAs.
Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said, "We had a telephonic conversation with Deve Gowda ji and Kumaraswamy. They have accepted our offer. Hopefully, we will be together."
"We accept the mandate of the people. We bow our heads to the verdict. We don’t have numbers to form government. The Congress has offered to support JD(S) to form government," Congress leader G Parameshwara said.
Both parties will jointly meet the Governor in the evening today.
Congress leader KC Venugopal said, "We (Congress and JD(S)) are jointly meeting the Governor in the evening today."
An official announcement is likely after that meet.
BJP's chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa refused to comment on this new-found friendship between the Congress and the JD(S).
He added, "We will soon know the final figures and decide the future plan."
