Southern States - Karnataka   

AIPJD for tie-ups with CPI, Raitha Sangha

By T.V. Sivanandan

GULBARGA Oct. 18. The All-India Progressive Janata Dal (AIPJD) has set the ball rolling for working out alliances and seat adjustments with like-minded parties for the Lok Sabha elections, and the Legislative Assembly elections due next year.

Disclosing this to The Hindu here today, the president of the AIPJD State unit, K.N. Nage Gowda, said that the party was in touch with the State unit of the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (Puttanaiah). He said that he and the national President of the party, S.R. Bommai, had held initial discussions with Mr. Puttanaiah for working out seat adjustments based on a common minimum programme with the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS), which was a force to reckon with in Dharwad, Shimoga Mysore, Mandya, and Tumkur districts and other parts of the State. The KRRS leader had requested the AIPJD to write a formal letter on the question of seat adjustment with it which would be placed before the executive committee of the KRRS for a final decision. The CPI leaders had also approached the AIPJD for seat adjustments in the coming elections and the party would write a formal letter in this connection to the party. Mr. Nage Gowda said the party leaders had also held formal discussions with the State unit of the BSP, and its president, Gopal, had requested the AIPJD leaders to approach the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mayawati, and Kanshi Ram in this regard. On the reported moves for the merger of the Janata Party with the AIPJD in the State, Mr. Nage Gowda said talks in this regard were progressing at the top level and the party has authorised Mr. Bommai and the party supremo, Ramakrishna Hegde, to persuade the working president of the Janata Party, Vijay Mallya, to join the AIPJD. He, however, ruled out changing the name of the party in case of a merger with the Janata Party and said that the party's name and the symbol allocated to it by the Election Commission would be retained.

Mr. Nage Gowda said the party had a good working relationship with Mr. Mallya who, according to him was "basically a Janata Dal man", and noted that the Janata Party had extended its unqualified support to the AIPJD candidates in the Hungund and Vemgal byelections. "The Janata Party is a like-minded party," he said and added, "We will request Mr. Mallya to take the advice of Mr. Hegde and join the AIPJD."

He ruled out any tie-up with the BJP and the Congress.

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