Karnataka Election 2018: 'Kingmaker' sidelined? Congress, BJP rule out taking support of JD(S) after results

With pollsters suggesting a hung Assembly in Karnataka election and predicting JD(S) to be the kingmaker, both BJP and Congress have reportedly denied a post-poll alliance with JD(S).

In an interview with Times Now, Karnataka chief minister appeared confident of winning from both the constituencies – Chamundeshwari and Badami – and ruled out an alliance with the JD(S). He said that the Congress will win the election alone and won't need the support of JD(S).

Karnataka CM @siddaramaiah confident of decisive mandate, says ‘won’t need JDS support after result’ #KarnatakaNow

— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) May 4, 2018

Siddaramaiah had earlier also said that the Congress will sweep back to power and alleged an alliance between the BJP and the JD(S), which was later denied by both parties. "In many constituencies, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (Secular) have joined hands, but they still would not be able to defeat us as the people are with us," Siddaramaiah was quoted as saying by ANI.

File image of JD(S) state president HD Kumaraswamy. PTI

'JD(S) will be a distant third'

Even the BJP has ruled out an alliance with the JD(S) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked people not to "waste" their votes on JD(S) as it will come a distant third in the election. "Surveys say JD(S) will be a distant third, they can't form a government. They cannot even remove the Congress from power. So no one should waste their vote on them," he said at a rally in Bengaluru.

The prime minister also hit out at JD(S) and said that the party had joined hands with extremists and communal forces. "JD(S) has done a big disservice as they have invited from other states extremist and highly communalist forces and those who support extremism into Karnataka and formed an alliance with them," he was quoted as saying by PTI.

Even BJP's chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa ruled out a post-poll alliance with the JD(S) "as of now". He said the party would secure a majority and form the government. "There is no question of post-poll alliance with JD(S) as of now," Yeddyurappa said.

Meanwhile, the JD(S) is not too happy with the tag of the 'kingmaker'. JD(S) state president HD Kumaraswamy, a son of Deve Gowda, had told PTI that he would emerge as the "king" and not a "kingmaker" after the elections.

With inputs from agencies