(NDTV)
In the fast-changing Karnataka election, the BJP surged ahead but struggled to reach the magic mark of 112, galvanizing the Congress and the Janata Dal Secular (JDS). In a last ditch attempt at holding on to Karnataka, the Congress has reached out to the JDS. Sources say Congress president Sonia Gandhi will speak to former prime minister Deve Gowda of the JDS, and will offer to support his son HD Kumarawamy as Chief Minister if the party agreed to an alliance. Karnataka, home to India’s Silicon Valley capital of Bengaluru, is the first big state election this year and will be followed by three more before 2019.
It is crucial for the Congress to retain Karnataka else it will be difficult for Rahul Gandhi to claim leadership in any opposition alliance against the BJP in 2019. The party holds only three states – Punjab, Puducherry and Mizoram. Had the Congress formed an alliance with the Janata Dal Secular before the Karnataka election, the poll outcome would have been “very different”, said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has been at the forefront of attempts to evolve a non-Congress, non-BJP front ahead of the national election.
