Bengaluru, Jan. 8 -- Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress president DK Shivakumar on Thursday predicted that the Janata Dal (Secular) is likely to merge with the Bharatiya Janata Party in the near future, asserting that such a development would ultimately benefit the Congress in the state.
Speaking to reporters after inducting former JDS leader Govindaraj and his supporters from the Chamrajapet Assembly constituency into the Congress at the KPCC office here, Shivakumar said the recent political conduct and statements of JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy indicated a clear drift towards the BJP.
He said a formal merger would simplify Karnataka's political landscape by reducing it to a straight fight between the Congress and the BJP....