Amid calls for unity among secular parties against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Janata Dal (Secular) (JD(S)) leader HD Kumaraswamy said that the Congress has lost its credibility. Saying that the party has lost ground across the country, he said that it will lose in Karnataka too during the 2023 Assembly polls. The former Chief Minister asserted that his party would contest independently in the Assembly polls and has set a target of winning at least 123 seats in the 225-member Assembly.
"....they (Congress) are saying that all secular forces should unite and send out a message, who will listen to Congress's stand. Congress has lost across the country, they are slightly breathing here (Karnataka). In 2023, they will lose here too completely," Kumaraswamy said. Speaking to reporters, he questioned how the Congress party, which has been rejected by people across the country, could fight communalism.
Reiterating that JD(S) would not have alliance with any party during the 2023 state election, Kumaraswamy said the party is on a mission to win 123 seats and is seeking the support of the people to form the government independently.
He hit out at the Congress party and its leader Siddaramaiah for repeatedly calling JD(S) the "B-team" of the BJP. "...look at yourself (Congress), you are in a coma stage. You could not make your stand clear on the 'hijab' issue. I know your hidden agenda, which is soft Hindutva," he added.
JD(S), on April 16, launched the 'Janata Jaladhare-Ganga Rath Yatra' in Karnataka to demand the implementation of all irrigation projects by the ruling BJP government. It will be carried out till May 8. Kumaraswamy said that it was the most ambitious programme in his lifetime. "The programme will be carried out with an objective of correcting the injustice meted out to the state in the last 75 years," Kumaraswamy stated.