JD(S) won't join NDA, says K'taka unit chief

Disquiet grew within the Janata Dal (Secular) over its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, with the party's Karnataka unit president CM Ibrahim on Monday saying the JD(S) will not join the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), defying the decision taken by party supremo and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda.

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Urging Deve Gowda to reconsider his decision to ally with the BJP, Ibrahim hinted at a possible split in the JD(S) by claiming several party legislators were in touch with him. The veteran leader said he and his supporters represented the "original" JD(S) for being "secular" and that being the state president he can take a decision about the party 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 and supporters.

Ibrahim, a former Union minister, said he would form a core committee to meet Deve Gowda and convey the decision taken at meeting on Monday.