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When he was informed in the afternoon about BJP’s plan to give up the fight before the vote-count, he thundered: “They should have known who they are playing against.”H D Deve Gowda, who turned 85 on Friday and is known as the 24/7 politician, is back in the game as his son H D Kumaraswamy gets ready to be sworn in as the chief minister of Karnataka. “We had told you to wait and watch, now I am very proud of my son. Our next big battle is in 2019 (Lok Sabha polls),” Gowda told The Times of India in an interview.More than happy, I am relieved that we were able to form a government that has secular credentials.The gift would’ve been much better if we had more numbers. Still, the satisfaction is that we were able to stop communal forces from surging ahead. This is especially important in a state like Karnataka. And that it was done with the help of a regional party like ours is the icing on the cake.We had honestly not expected a majority. It’s true that I’d said that we would prefer to sit in the opposition if we don’t get to form the government but the context was different. Today, the emergent situation demanded that secular parties came together and I am happy that the Congress acted swiftly and came forward to provide unconditional support.Yes, it had. While the 2008 coalition had tainted my son ( HD Kumaraswamy ), he has now managed to cleanse himself. He was also completely aware of how hurt I was with the arrangement in 2008 and was very conscious this time not to repeat his mistakes. He directed everybody who approached him, both before and after the polls, to me.Thankfully, that situation never arose. I had made that statement to highlight how a relationship with the BJP could seriously dent the party’s image, while also being bad for the people of the state. It has since been our common goal to keep the BJP out of power.I know this question arises from the experiences of 2004-2006, when the two parties did not complete a full term in office. Both Congress and we have learnt from that experience. I am confident that the present arrangement will govern the state for five full years. Kumaraswamy has the ability to take everybody along, and I don’t foresee any hiccups on the way to a full term.Our next destination is 2019. The need of the hour is for secular parties to come together and Karnataka has not just shown the way but has gone a step ahead in that direction by forming a government. This should inspire regional parties across the country to come together and put up a concerted fight against the BJP.The BJP’s methods were not just wrong, but were also in sharp contradiction to the party’s stand and claims in other states like Goa where it had contended that just emerging as a single largest party is not enough to form a government. The BJP had then said that if the combined strength of parties was more than that of the single largest party the combination must be allowed to form the government, and they even did that. The Supreme Court , which took note of these things during its emergency midnight hearing, reduced the time given to the party by a BJP governor in its interim order.The Congress high command had been preparing for all scenarios even before the results, and the party’s senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad arrived in Bengaluru a day before the results on May 15. They were in touch with me for a few days and their quick response on May 15, stemming from backroom discussions with the JD(S), effectively managed to stump BJP’s immediate plans. The saffron party has since been on the backfoot.The BJP should learn its lesson that it cannot form governments by horse-trading. I hope that the party, at least in the future follows a clean path. They claim to be a party of difference, but this should not be how they behave. If the party wants to make a difference, it must begin with forming governments without the use of money and muscle.Let anybody be anything. I am HD Deve Gowda