H.D. Deve Gowda, H.D. Kumaraswamy

Ruling out any merger proposals before him, Kumaraswamy, asserted that his aim is to ensure JD(S) emerges victorious in the 2023 Assembly polls and forms the government independently

This is the second time the two leaders have met in recent months

As the BS Yediyurappa government in Karnataka completed one month in office on Monday, Congress legislature party leader Siddaramaiah claimed it may last one year at the most.

Karnataka Assembly Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar on Sunday disqualified 14 more rebel MLAs -- 11 from the Congress and three from the JD(S) -- under the anti-defection law till the end of the current term of the House in 2023.

Deve Gowda made the party position clear a day after a section of JD(S) legislators asked former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy to extend support to the BJP government in Karnataka.

The party said the BJP backed Governor's decision to permit Yeddyurappa to take oath without raising any doubt was anti-democratic.

The delegation will meet Home Minister Amit Shah and party working President JP Nadda later in the day and is expected to discuss the future course of action to form the government in Karnataka.

The Congress-JD(S) government in Karnataka collapsed after the confidence motion moved by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy was defeated in the assembly, ending his 14-month long turbulent tenure.

On Monday, the debate on the confidence motion entered its third day, and Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar has summoned all rebel MLAs tomorrow.

H Nagesh and R Shankar were inducted into the cabinet barely a month ago to avoid their chances of leaving the government.