JD(S) General Secretary Danish Ali on Saturday quit the party and joined the Bahujan Samaj Party in Lucknow. Just days ago, he was involved in discussions that finalised the alliance between the Congress and the JD(S) in Karnataka for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
“The JD(S) does not have a large organisational structure in Uttar Pradesh. Despite all my efforts, I could not have raised it in my janmabhoomi, my karmabhoomi (my birthplace, my place of duty). The way in which there is a threat to the Constitution today, it has become essential to use our energy with a strong leadership,” Danish said, speaking to news agency ANI.
He stated that he has joined BSP with the permission and blessings of JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda.
“I never asked for anything even when I was in JD(S), it was up to HD Deve Gowda ji to decide what work to assign me. I have come here after taking the blessings and permission of Deve Gowda ji. I will work wherever Behen ji assigns me,” Danish said.
The seat-sharing pact for the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka was formalised in a meeting between Danish Ali and Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Kochi. The pre-poll alliance for Lok Sabha elections between the two parties was sealed soon after HD Kumaraswamy was sworn-in as the minister. Congress will be contesting from 20 out of the 28 total seats in the state.
A resident of Uttar Pradesh, Danish Ali is considered close to JD(S) patriarch Deve Gowda and has been the face of the party in New Delhi for over 20 years.
Last year, before the Karnataka Assembly Elections, Danish Ali was instrumental in sealing an alliance between the JD(S) and the BSP in the state. The BSP supported the Congress-JD(S) alliance in Karnataka but the lone BSP MLA in Karnataka quit as a minister in October 2018.