Bengaluru (DHNS): Home Minister G Parameshwara on Saturday said he would welcome unity among secular parties to fight communal forces in the state.

The statement comes a day after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said he would personally meet JD(S) supremo H?D?Deve Gowda and thank him for cooperating in the bypolls to the Nanjangud and Gundlupet Assembly seats. It also attains significance as the Assembly elections are due next year.

Parameshwara told reporters that there is nothing wrong in secular forces uniting.

“I have no information regarding the efforts to form a mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) at the national level. The recent meeting between Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has sent a message that secular forces should come together,” he said.

Whether there would be a tie-up between the Congess and JD(S) for the polls, he said he was not aware of it.

“I am not aware of this at present. But I, like the chief minister, wholeheartedly welcome unity among secular forces. The BJP has been talking about Mission 150 (target to win 150 Assembly seats). It is not possible to achieve this. The Congress will again win the next polls. The party is conducting a survey to identify candidates who could be fielded. Last time, the party conducted three surveys to choose the candidates,” the state Congress chief said.

On whether the party president’s post would go to a leader from north Karnataka, Parameshwara said Basavaraj Rayareddy, a five-time MLA, is capable of occupying the post. But, he was quick to add that the decision would be left to the party high command.

There is speculation that Minister M?B?Patil may replace Parameshwara as president. Even MP K?H?Muniyappa’s name is doing the rounds.

In Shivamogga, Siddaramaiah ruled out an electoral tie-up for the Assembly polls. Instead, he favoured a national grand alliance of secular parties to take on the ‘communal’ BJP. However, he did not comment on the post-poll tie-up.

He told reporters that there is no room for coalition politics in the state as the Congress is “strong enough”. Significantly, the JD(S) did not field any candidate against the Congress in the recent bypolls.