Janata Dal (Secular) patriarch H.D. Deve Gowda on Monday reiterated that there was no question of going with the BJP in case of a fractured mandate in the Assembly elections and that he and his family would disown his son H.D. Kumaraswamy if he chose to do so.

Mr. Gowda had told an English news channel on Sunday that “if it happens (Mr. Kumaraswamy joining hands with the BJP in case of a fractured mandate), I and my wife and family will totally boycott him”. Mr. Gowda had said that talks of Mr. Kumaraswamy going with the BJP in case of a hung Assembly were a propaganda. “He committed a mistake in 2006 and learnt a lesson,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Kumaraswamy in Hassan said he was confident that his party would come to power and the situation of forming a government with the BJP would not arise.

When asked about his father’s statement that he would disown him if he joined hands with the BJP, Mr. Kumaraswamy told reporters at Sakleshpur that he did not know the context in which his father had said it. “But, I am confident such a situation would not arise,” he said.