Karnataka: HD Kumaraswamy tells JD(S) workers to get ready for premature Assembly elections
Earlier in the day, the former chief minister had claimed that he wanted to quit politics.
Former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Saturday told workers of the Janata Dal (Secular) to get ready for premature Assembly elections in the state, ANI reported. He said elections could happen on the 17 seats where MLAs have been disqualified, or on all 224 Assembly seats.
Bharatiya Janata Party Karnataka chief BS Yediyurappa took over as the chief minister last week after Kumaraswamy lost a trust vote in the Legislative Assembly 99-105. The Janata Dal (Secular) had been in a coalition government with the Congress. However, Yediyurappa’s government could become unstable if it does not win a majority of the 17 seats that have been vacated.
“There will be no coalition,” Kumaraswamy told Janata Dal (Secular) workers on Saturday. “We don’t need any coalition now. I don’t need power, I need your love.”
Kumaraswamy had said earlier in the day that he wants to quit politics. “I’m thinking of going away from politics,” he told ANI. He also called himself an accidental chief minister and politician.
“I came to politics accidentally. I became CM accidentally,” Kumaraswamy said. “God gave me opportunity to become CM twice. I wasn’t there to satisfy anyone. In 14 months I did good work towards state’s development. I’m satisfied.”
The former chief minister claimed that today’s politics is not meant for good people, but is about “caste infatuation” instead. “Don’t bring in my family. I’m done. Let me live in peace. I don’t have to continue in politics,” he said. “I did good when I was in power. I want space in people’s heart.”