Decision to give Tumakuru to JDS will not reduce Cong's hold in seat: Karnataka Dy CM

Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara has said the Congress' decision to cede the Tumakuru Lok Sabha seat to coalition partner JDS will not reduce the party's hold in the constituency and that their ultimate goal is to see Rahul Gandhi becoming prime minister.

Former prime minister and JDS supremo H D Deve Gowda will take on former parliamentarian G S Basavaraju in Tumakuru, which has changed hands between the Congress and the BJP in the past.

"The decision to allot the Tumakuru constituency to Deve Gowda will not cut down the Congress' hold there. Our ultimate goal is to see Rahul Gandhi becoming the prime minister of India," Parameshwara told PTI in an interview on the sidelines of an election campaign event at Kolala village here.

Even Deve Gowda has expressed his desire to see Gandhi as prime minister, he added.

"There is a saying in English. It goes something like this - 'one has to accept defeat so that you don't break later' (sic). Therefore, I and my party decided not to field .