Deve Gowda denies saying mid-term polls in Karnataka soon

Bengaluru : Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda on Friday denied saying that there would be a mid-term Assembly election in Karnataka due to the reported rift with its coalition partner, Congress.

"Gowda has been misquoted by a section of the media. He did not say there would be a mid-term poll in the state. He said he was preparing his party to contest in the local bodies elections due next year," JD-S media secretary K. Guruprasad told IANS here, citing the former Prime Minister.

Admitting that Gowda spoke to the media at his home in the city's southwest suburb when they approached for his views on the International Yoga Day and the secret of his long and healthy life at the age of 87, Guruprasad said despite differences between the allies, there was no threat to the year-old coalition government in the southern state.

"The media got it wrong as Gowda was referring to the local bodies elections, due in early 2020. Our party and Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy are committed to completed the remaining four-year term with Congress' support," Guruprasad said.