Want to be agriculture minister if NDA returns to power, says HDK

JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy has expressed his commitment to enhancing the NDA's chances in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. However, he said that the continuation of the alliance with BJP post-elections hinges on the treatment of his party and its leaders.

The former Karnataka chief minister said that given an opportunity and if Prime Minister Narendra Modi has confidence in him, he wants to be the agriculture minister, in the event of NDA coming back to power at the Centre.

In an exclusive interview with PTI, the state JD(S) president, who filed his nomination from Mandya on Thursday said, "We being part of the NDA depends on how our party leaders are treated in the future. We are sincerely working, and we want a long-standing relationship with the BJP. But ultimately we will take a decision depending on how we are treated and how much respect we get from the BJP." JD(S) headed by former prime minister HD Deve Gowda joined the BJP-led NDA in September last year.

As part of the seat-sharing agreement, the BJP would contest in 25 constituencies and the JD(S) in the remaining three – Mandya, Hassan and Kolar – in Karnataka.

HDK's ambition to hold agriculture portfolio 

Kumaraswamy made no secret about his desire to become the Union agriculture minister.

"It is not only the aspirations of people of Mandya to see me as union minister, even my BJP friends feel that it will be good for the state if I become a minister. I come from an agricultural background and given an opportunity I want to be the agriculture minister and bring a good name for the government. If the prime minister believes that I can do good work and if I am given an opportunity I want to work in the agricultural sector," he said.

The JD(S) leader, who is an MLA from Channapatna in the neighbouring Ramanagara district, said he was under a lot of pressure from the people of Mandya to contest from there.

"We have entered into an alliance with BJP to fight for better prospects for Karnataka and not for political survival. It is going to be mutually beneficial for both the BJP and JD(S). The Congress took advantage of the vote-split between us in the last (assembly) election, we realised the mistake and we have decided to fight the Congress together," he said.

'BJP natural ally'

Stating that it is BJP which is the "natural ally" of JD(S) and not the Congress, Kumaraswamy said his party has always fought the Grand Old Party for the last 50 years.

"Our last alliance with BJP (for 20 months from January 2006), when I was the Chief Minister was a good period and because of some misunderstanding and some misdeeds of miscreants we had to part ways," he said, adding that leaders of parties and cadres are now sincerely working for each other.

"This time around there is a lot of positivity, energy and synergy between us. Be it (BS) Yediyurappa (BJP veteran) or Deve Gowda (JDS patriarch) or be it any of us. We all are working for each other to see to it that the NDA alliance gets all the 28 seats in Karnataka," he added.

Kumaraswamy also said the Congress in Karnataka had messed up the state's finances because of its 'guarantee' schemes and the government doesn't have any funds for capital expenditure or development.

"Having mismanaged the finances now they are pointing fingers at the Centre over discrepancy in refund of GST and other grants,’’ he alleged. 

(With inputs from agencies)