The Hindu : Karnataka News : JD(U) urges BJP to stake claim to form Govt.

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 16, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

JD(U) urges BJP to stake claim to form Govt.

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, MAY 15. The Janata Dal (U) national President, S.R. Bommai, today urged the Governor, T.N. Chaturvedi, to invite the BJP-Janata Dal (U) alliance to form the next Government in the State since it was the largest group.

Addressing presspersons after a meeting of party office-bearers and the newly elected MLAs here, Mr. Bommai said that according to convention, the Governor should invite the party with the largest number of seats to form the Government. In this case, the BJP-Janata Dal (U) had 84 seats and, hence, it should be invited.

Mr. Bommai said: "We are not after power. Party ideology is important to us."

The Janata Dal (U) offered to talk to the Janata Dal (S) to persuade it to join forces with the BJP to form a non-Congress Government.

The Janata Dal (U) State unit President, B. Somashekar, said the people's mandate in the State was against the Congress, both in the Legislative Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. The attempt of the Janata Dal (S) to join hands with the Congress would amount to a betrayal of the verdict given by the people. He criticised the BJP for not taking the initiative to form a new Government and urged it to stake a claim to form the Government. "By this time the BJP should have approached the Governor or spoken to us. They are taking it lightly," Mr. Somashekar said.

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