There was uncertainty surrounding seat-sharing in Karnataka, with the BJP not providing a clear stance on the matter. The JD(S) had been demanding three to four seats in the elections.
HD Kumaraswamy (Twitter)
The BJP has finally acceded to the JD(S)’s demand and agreed to allocate the Kolar, Hassan, and Mandya seats to the regional party in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Initially, there was uncertainty surrounding seat-sharing in Karnataka, with the BJP not providing a clear stance on the matter. The JD(S) had been demanding three to four seats in the elections.
Putting the speculations to rest, BJP’s Karnataka state election in-charge Radha Mohan Das Agarwal said on Saturday, 23 March that Kolar, Hassan and Mandya Lok Sabha seats have been given to JD(S). He also urged the party cadre to extend full support to the JD(S) in the constituencies.
Negotiations over seat allocation have been ongoing ever since the BJP and JD(S) formed an alliance ahead of the polls.
HD Kumaraswamy, the JD(S) chief and former Karnataka chief minister, had been adamant about securing three to four seats for his party.
“BJP knows the strength of the JD(S), and I have faith that they will give us three to four seats,” he had said.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, 13 March, Kumaraswamy announced that the BJP had agreed to allocate three seats – Mandya, Hassan, and Kolar – to his party.
However, there were reports suggesting the BJP’s reluctance to concede the Kolar seat, causing uncertainty and dissatisfaction within the JD(S).
It was later reported that the BJP would give its ally only two seats, following which Kumaraswamy expressed displeasure over the issue.
“Ever since the alliance (with the BJP) was initiated, we have been asking for three seats. However, neither the state leaders of the BJP nor its high command have given us any clear picture,” Kumaraswamy had told reporters on 19 March.
Despite this, the former chief minister asserted that there was no confusion in the ties between the BJP and the JD(S) and also expressed hope that the issue over seat-sharing would be resolved soon.
“On the advice of JD(S) national president and former PM HD Deve Gowda, we have decided to forge an alliance (with the BJP). I did not make those statements because there was a lack of faith. I disclosed before the media that was deliberated in the state core committee meeting,” he clarified.
He reiterated that despite the uncertainty over seat-sharing, the alliance would clean sweep in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The JD(S) announced its coalition with NDA on 22 September last year. Since then, both parties have held multiple meetings over seat-sharing and political equations in the state for the Lok Sabha elections.
The JD(S) was in alliance with Congress in Karnataka in the last parliamentary elections.
Apart from Mandya, Hassan and Kolar seats, noted cardiac surgeon, and Deve Gowda’s son-in-law Dr CN Manjunath has been fielded from Bangalore Rural on a BJP ticket, as per the agreement between both the parties.
(Edited by Shauqueen Mizaj)
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