Former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said it was an expectation that both parties, that were in the Opposition, should come together.
Published Sep 12, 2023 | 3:32 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 12, 2023 | 3:33 PM
File photo of BS Yediyurappa. (Supllied)
BJP leader and former Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa on Tuesday, 12 September, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and the party’s central leadership would decide on the alliance with the JD(S) for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Yediyurappa, who said he was going to Delhi to attend an election committee meeting of the party, added that the political situation in the state would figure in the discussions at the meet.
“Delhi leaders, Amit Shah, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will decide on it. I don’t have any special information on it so far,” the BJP strongman told reporters in response to a question on a possible BJP-JD(S) alliance.
Asked whether he was travelling to Delhi on Wednesday, the former chief minister said he was going there to attend the BJP election committee meeting (as a central election committee member) and would meet all the leaders there.
“Will try to discuss the political situation in the state and seek their suggestions,” he added.
Asked whether he will discuss the alliance with JD(S) during the visit, he said, “I don’t know, it is left to the PM and Amit Shah, let’s see how the discussion goes…whatever decision the Delhi leadership takes, we will abide by it.”
Another former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said it was an expectation that both parties, that were in opposition, should come together.
“Next talks will happen at the Delhi level and after considering all the pros and cons, leaders of both parties will decide,” he said.
Hitting out at the Congress for criticising the possible alliance between the BJP and the JD(S) by terming it as coming together of “helpless parties”, Bommai said, “They have formed INDIA alliance, where opponents like Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal CM and Trinamool Congress chief), CPI, Congress, Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi chief minister and AAP chief) have come together, are they all helpless?”
In India’s political history there are instances where different types of understandings have happened to face various challenges, he said, adding, “To fight this evil government in Karnataka strongly, we are joining hands.”
Yediyurappa on 8 September said the BJP would have an understanding with the JD(S) for the Lok Sabha elections and four seats would be given to the JD(S), an announcement that shot up the political temperature in the state.
However, on Sunday, he said the discussions in this regard had not reached finality yet and would be decided by PM Modi and Amit Shah.
He had claimed that Amit Shah agreed with the arrangement of giving four seats for the JD(S) to contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Meanwhile, asserting that the party was still in talks with the BJP on 10 September, Kumaraswamy said: “I want to clarify that discussions about our party — the JD(S) — and the BJP contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections together are still in their initial stages.”
He added: “There have been no talks about seat-sharing between our parties at this point. We will take a decision that is in the best interest of the state.”
He also said: “I appreciate Yediyurappa’s statement about the alliance, but we need to consider various factors before reaching a final decision.”
Asked about seat-sharing, HD Kumaraswamy said, “We will resolve those issues smoothly. These are preliminary issues. How many seats we will contest is not the question here. Our intention, our aim is to defeat Congress in this election. Everyone is seeing how they have been running the government in Karnataka over the last two months.
Regarding reports of his father and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda meeting with the BJP high command, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, he said: “I would say, ‘Wait and watch’ for further developments.”
The BJP had swept the 2019 LS polls in Karnataka by winning 25 seats, while an independent (Sumalatha Ambareesh from Mandya) backed by it won one seat. The Congress and the JD(S) won one seat each.
(With PTI inputs)
