Gowda, Sonia meet to decide Dharam fate

Gowda’s demands reportedly include having the chief minister’s post given to the JD(S) as also key portfolios like finance, revenue and irrigation; the withdrawal of cases against JD(S) workers and an end to Congress moves to ally with suspended JD(S) MLAs for panchayat governance.

The JD(S) rebels have now said that the decision to ally with the BJP was taken after Kumaraswamy learnt that the Congress—using suspended JD(S) man Siddaramaiah—had convinced nearly 20 JD(S) MLAs to leave the party.

‘‘The decision to break out of the alliance with the Congress was taken after they tried to lure 20 of our MLAs. We pre-empted them,’’ said JD(S) state unit president N Thipanna, once a close Gowda confidante but now the senior-most person in Kumaraswamy’s camp.

Also on Saturday, Gowda held discussions with senior JD(S) national leaders to arrive at a face-saving formula for the party’s secular image. It is evident, however, that he is showing signs of taking a more ‘neutral’ stance towards his ‘rebel’ son. After initial talk of issuing a whip to his party’s MLAs to vote for Dharam Singh in the vote of confidence, Gowda now says that his party MLAs actions cannot be termed anti-party.