Ali joins BSP, K’taka CM says with consent

LUCKNOW/BENGALURU: Senior Janata Dal (Secular) leader Danish Ali, who played a key role in the formation of the alliance currently ruling in Karnataka, joined the Bahujan Samaj Party on Saturday – a move that the chief minister in the southern state said had been done with the “consent” of the party leadership.

Ali, the general secretary of the Janata Dal Secular, joined the BSP before party national general secretary Satish Chandra Misra. According to party members aware of discussions, Ali is expected to be fielded by the BSP from Amroha in western Uttar Pradesh.

Speaking to newspersons, Ali said he had the blessings of JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda and was joining the BSP as both parties follow the same principles of Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar.

“JDS doesn’t have a large organisational structure in UP. Despite all my efforts I could not raise it in my ‘janmabhoomi, my ‘karmabhoomi’...,” Ali said.

Ali was a key negotiator between the Congress and JD(S) in the state and was part of the coordination committee that was mandated with deciding policies of the state government.

He had also met Congress president Rahul Gandhi at the Kochi Airport on Wednesday to finalise the seat sharing deal between the coalition partners for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. A senior leader of the Janata Dal (Secular) said he was taken by surprise by Ali’s decision to quit. “Of course, one doesn’t know if there was a bigger strategy behind this but it can hardly be expected to have an impact on the state.”

Kumaraswamy, however, tweeted that there was a deeper strategy at play. “Danish Ali, the JDS general secretary, has joined BSP in consent with me and our national president Sri HD Devegowda in a purely political arrangement between the two parties. It is a thoughtful political decision taken by #JDS and BSP to win more seats in the Loksabha elections,” he said.