Not against projecting Mamata as PM face, says Deve Gowda

Pitching for a “formidable front” against the BJP, former prime minister and JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda has said he is not averse to projecting TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as the Opposition’s prime ministerial face for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The remark by Gowda, 85, comes against the backdrop of reports that the Congress and other opposition parties favour leaving the issue of a prime ministerial candidate for the post-election phase as they feel that opposition unity could be hurt if the subject is taken up ahead of the polls.

The remark also comes days after top Congress sources indicated that the party will not mind a nominee for the top post from any Opposition alliance which does not have the backing of the BJP and the RSS.

Gowda, whose party has formed a coalition government in Karnataka with the support of the Congress, said the Congress will play a crucial role in forging opposition unity in the bid by the alliance to dislodge the BJP from power.

In an interview to PTI in Delhi over the weekend, the former prime minister noted while the formation of a third front is still in the “early stage” Banerjee is “trying her best” to bring all the nonBJP parties together. Gowda headed the Janata Dal-led United Front(UF) coalition government in 1996 but his tenure did not last more than a year.