New Delhi: JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday night met Sonia Gandhi fuelling speculation of further cracks in the Third Front, as Congress and BJP hunted for allies to shore up numbers with no signs of a clear winner emerging in the Lok Sabha elections.
Shortly after the hush-hush meeting at Sonia's 10 Janpath residence, the former Karnataka Chief Minister at a hurriedly convened news conference was at pains to say there was no question of JD(S) leaving the Third Front.
"We are not leaving Third Front. We are in Third Front and we will continue to be in Third Front," said the son of JD(S) supremo and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda.
Kumaraswamy said only issues relating to Karnataka were discussed and that JD(S) will abide by whatever decision other Third Front constituents take after Lok Sabha polls. He also said Sonia did not seek JD(S) support for Congress.
Gowda downplayed the significance of the meeting insisting the Third Front was "intact" and that it was too early to write the "obituary" of this grouping.
While details of the meeting were not known, it triggered intense speculation whether the grouping of Left and regional parties was facing further trouble after the TRS led by K Chandrashekar Rao dumped the Front and jumped on the NDA bandwagon on Sunday.
Kumaraswamy said he had also briefed his father and JD(S) chief H D Deve Gowda on his discussions with Gandhi.
He said people should vote for Third Front candidates during tomorrow's polling in 86 constituencies. "Neither Congress has any expectations from us nor are we expecting anything from Congress as we are in the Third Front," he said.
Kumaraswamy, however, was at pains to explain hiding of his face while entering the Congress President's residence. He claimed he put his hand on his face because he was "sweating" (in his Mercedes car).
He said he had met Gandhi before elections also. When pressed by reporters to explain the meeting, the JD(S) leader said he was not answerable to the media as to why he met Gandhi.
On the timing of the meeting, he said it was an "auspicious" occasion.
Asked whether he discussed the issue of dismissing BJP government in Karnataka, Kumaraswamy dismissed it as "immature" talk.
At the same, time, he said all parties need to "cut BJP's impact".
He also claimed TRS had "clarified" that it was still with Third Front.