The Janata Dal (Secular) has said that its rise in Karnataka may very well act as a platform to unite the opposition parties, especially the regional outfits, to play a bigger role in the national arena during the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.
Indicative of this is the invitation extended to leaders of regional parties to attend the swearing-in of the JDS-Congress coalition government in Karnataka on 21 May.
Soon to be Chief Minister, HD Kumaraswamy, was quoted by Eenadu, “UPA chief Sonia Gandhi and Congress President Rahul Gandhi would be invited to the swearing-in ceremony.”
“We have invited Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Bengal chief minister Mamata Bannerjee, BSP leader Mayawati, Samajwadi party leader Akhilesh Yadav, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu and other leaders from regional parties,” Kumaraswamy said.
JD(S) spokesperson Ramesh Babu told PTI, “The national political scenario favours the regional parties today. Congress party’s tie-up with regional parties in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and now in Karnataka indicate that the regional parties will take a centre stage in the national politics. They will all come in one platform.”
Babu said, “The right time has arrived for the secular forces to unite due to the ‘undeclared emergency’ in the country.”
“It is the attitude of the central government, which made it inevitable for the regional parties to unite the secular forces and fight against BJP and save democracy. For that Karnataka will lead. We will see to it that regional parties play a vital role in 2019 elections,” Babu said.
He said that JD(S) had invited Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, who are its coalition partners in Karnataka.
“The event (swearing-in ceremony) will set a trend for the parliamentary elections in 2019. Under the leadership of our leader HD Deve Gowda, it is our privilege to provide platform to all secular parties and regional parties in Karnataka,” he added.