Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) chief HD Deve Gowda on Saturday said that his party would support Congress in the ongoing Lok Sabha Polls and sees Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Ministerial candidate for the anti- Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) front. The former PM, whose party is in coalition with the Congress in Karnataka, also stated that the election results on May 23 will clear the political picture of the country. “We are with the Congress president and there is no doubt about it. A clear picture would emerge after May 23,” Deve Gowda said while speaking to reporters in Tirumala after offering prayers at a Lord Venkateshwara temple on his 87th birthday.

Deve Gowda’s statement comes after his son and Karnataka CM said that his party is ready to support Congress president Rahul Gandhi for the PM post. Meanwhile, Deve Gowda's son HD Kumaraswamy predicted that the Congress-JD(S) alliance in Karnataka would secure 18 to 19 seats (out of 28) in the Lok Sabha elections.

To a query, he said there was no change in his party's stand and it would support the Congress in the formation of a new government at the Centre. Out of the 28 parliamentary constituencies in Karnataka, Congress and JD-S contested on 21 and 7 seats, respectively. The former PM had earlier said that no regional parties can form government in this country without the support of grand old party. While Deve Gowda contested from Tumkur his grandsons Prajwal and Nikhil contested from Hassan and Mandya.

Earlier this month, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president M K Stalin also extended his support to Congress and said that his party would pitch for Rahul Gandhi as the PM candidate. According to reports, Stalin even advised Telangana Rashtra Samithi president and Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who met him in Chennai on May 13, to join the Congress-led coalition.

When asked about his thoughts on taking up the prime ministerial candidate spot, Congress President told reporters that it is something the people of this country would decided and it will be decided after May 23.