Bangalore: In a step towards consolidating the Janata Parivar, a faction of Janata Dal-United (JD-U) Karnataka unit on August 16 formally merged with Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) led by former Prime Minister H D Devegowda with leaders of both parties appealing to All India Progressive Janata Dal (AIPJD) also to be part of their alignment.

Led by JD-U floor leader in the Assembly P G R Sindhia, several state leaders joined the JD-S fold "unconditionally", within six days after the party president and Union Minister Sharad Yadav dissolved the Karnataka unit on the ground that it was not functioning according to the party Constitution.

Welcoming the "merger", Gowda, who is the JD-S president, said August 16's development would give a new direction to the state politics and appealed to AIPJD also to join hands with them, saying "we all belong to one family but have separated for different reasons".

"Let us all unite. I have no personal agenda", he told AIPJD leaders whose talks with JD-S on uniting Janata Parivar have ran aground due to differences on various issues, including leadership. "I have no mental block", Gowda said.

Sindhia and JD-S Karnataka unit president and former Deputy Chief Minister Siddramaiah also said AIPJD was welcome to join forces with them to take on what they called "the corrupt and inefficient" Congress and "communal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)".

August 16's development would not have much political bearing as Sindhia is the lone MLA while AIPJD has 17 MLAs with it and several senior state leaders. AIPJD came into being in 2002 after the merger of almost the entire JD-U lot and a section of JD-S.

PTI