Janata Dal (Seular) national president HD Deve Gowda has said that the chief of party's Karnataka unit CM Ibrahim has been expelled from the post. He has also dissolved the state working committee. This comes days after Ibrahim defied Deve Gowda’s decision to align with the Bharatiya Janata Party for the Lok Sabha elections, stating that the JD(S) will not join the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.
Reacting to the party president's decision, former Karnataka CM and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy said, "To strengthen the party, our national president today took the decision to dissolve the old unit and announced the ad-hoc committee in my leadership... Naturally, it will be communicated to him (CM Ibrahim)...My responsibility is to strengthen the party...My concentration is to develop my party."
Earlier, Ibrahim had hinted at a possible split in the party, as he claimed that his faction is the original JD(S) for being ‘secular’ and that being the state president he can make a decision about the outfit in Karnataka. “Our first decision is that the JD(S) will not go with the NDA. The second decision was a request to Deve Gowda that he should not give his consent to this alliance", Ibrahim told reporters after a meeting with some party leaders.
He further urged former PM Gowda not to give his consent to the tie-up with the BJP because many people have quit the party in the neighbouring states. He highlighted the instances of JD(S) leaders resigning from the party in Kerala, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu following the BJP-JD(S) pact.
“In Karnataka, however, we still have affection for you. You are a father figure. We will tell him (Gowda) that we should not have any relation with the BJP,” Ibrahim said. Ibrahim, who had served as Civil Aviation Minister in the H D Deve Gowda-led government at the Centre, called his faction the ‘original JD(S) and said that his faction is ‘secular’.
He further added that he would be forming a core committee, which will meet Deve Gowda and convey the decision taken at today's meeting.