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ELECTIONS '96

Cong, BJP want Karnataka JD govt to quit

Drubbing the Janata Dal rout in Karnataka as 'humiliating', the main opposition parties in the state, the BJP and the Congress, mounted pressure on the government for the assembly dissolution. The Dal, they said, had no ''moral right to remain in power''.

For its part, the Dal conceded defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, but ruled out resigning in the wake of the verdict.

Party spokesman and Transport Minister P G R Sindhia told the media, even before the first results came in, that Lok Shakti leader Ramakrishna Hegde had succeeded in his attempt to defeat the JD.

"People have given the verdict, we will accept it," he said.

However, he asserted there would not be any exodus from the party to the Lok Shakti.

Interestingly, the BJP's poll partner Lok Shakti is against seeking fresh mandate. The JD, which had won 16 of the 28 seats in 1996, looks as if it can retain only three seats. This includes former prime minister H D Deve Gowda's Hassan.

But the BJP, which has been steadily increasing its tally in the state since the 1989 election, is keen on utilising the opportunity to form a government on its own. However, state party president B S Yediyappa ruled out the formation of the government with 'defectors'.

UNI

Elections '98

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