Deve Gowda not averse to Mamata as PM

New Delhi, August 5

Pitching for a “formidable front” against the BJP, former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda has said he was 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 elections.

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

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 that does not have BJP-RSS backing.

Gowda, whose party has formed a coalition government in Karnataka with Congress, said the Congress would play a crucial role in forging Opposition unity in the bid by the alliance to dislodge the BJP from power. — PTI