Shortly after the Election Commission announced the election date for Karnataka on Tuesday, JD(S) founder and former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda criticised Rahul Gandhi's recent statement referring to the JD(S) as the BJP's 'B team'.
Gowda referred to the JD(S)-backed coalition government that Dharam Singh led from 2004 to 2006. He said “When Siddaramaiah was deputy chief minister and Dharam Singh was CM, we were team B for Congress.” The Singh government fell after Gowda's son, H.D. Kumaraswamy, withdrew support and formed a government with the BJP's support.
Gowda added that the public would know whether “We become team B for Congress or Congress will become team B for JD(S),” in a reference to the coming elections. On Sunday, Gandhi had referred to the JD(S) as a 'B team' of the BJP at a rally in Mandya district and even expanded the party's acronym to mean Janata Dal Sangh Parivar.
Gowda had recently reiterated that he would have no pre-poll tie-up except for an alliance with Mayawati. However, the defeat of a JD(S)-backed candidate in the recent Rajya Sabha polls due to party rebels supporting the Congress led to Kumaraswamy issuing hints of warming to the BJP.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who was a one-time protégé of Deve Gowda, has been known to adopt a firm line against a tie-up with the JD(S).