Kumaraswamy Delhi visit: Seat-sharing talks with BJP leadership for LS polls likely

JD(S) state President H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday left for New Delhi amid speculation that he is likely to hold talks with the BJP central leadership on seat-sharing in Karnataka for the Lok Sabha elections.

The JD(S) joined the BJP-led NDA in September after a meeting Kumaraswamy, a former Chief Minister, had with Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president J P Nadda in New Delhi.

Leaders of both parties have since been maintaining that talks are yet to take place on seat sharing for the Lok Sabha polls.

Though Kumaraswamy said he was going to Delhi on personal work, his nephew and JD(S) Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna indicated about JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on Thursday.

”No seat sharing talks…is my trip to Delhi also special? There is nothing special in the Delhi trip, I’m going on personal work…there is nothing, I will come back to talk to you,” Kumaraswamy told reporters at the airport, before leaving for the national capital.

However, Revanna said in Delhi: ”Tomorrow our elders (Deve Gowda) will be meeting the Prime Minister and will discuss issues concerning the state.” According to JD(S) sources, Kumaraswamy is likely to meet the BJP leadership to take the alliance forward and discuss seat sharing for the Lok Sabha polls. Also, as Deve Gowda, who is member of the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka, is in Delhi to attend the Parliament session, they are likely to meet Modi.

Meanwhile, state BJP President B Y Vijayendra, also travelling to Delhi, added to speculation about seat sharing talks. Vijayendra said he was going to the national capital to attend a party meeting.

”On December 22 and 23, there is a meeting of all state presidents of the party in Delhi, so I’m going to attend it. During the visit, naturally I will try to meet all party leaders and the national president (Nadda), and try to discuss the appointment of state office-bearers of the party,” he said.

Asked about talks on seat sharing with the JD(S), Vijayendra said, both parties are in alliance, but there is no information about JD(S)’ expectations, as to how many seats they want to contest in the Lok Sabha polls. ”They (JD(S) leaders) will discuss everything with our national leaders, we (state BJP) will also discuss with them. There has been no preliminary discussions on seat sharing yet. What JD(S) demands are will be discussed by the national leadership and the state unit will share its opinion,” he said.

Vijayendra said he was going to Delhi now to attend the meeting of BJP state presidents meeting and has no information on any seat sharing talks.

The JD(S) contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in alliance with the Congress. The two parties were then running an alliance government under the Chief Ministership of Kumaraswamy back then. The BJP swept the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka by winning 25 seats, while an independent (Sumalatha Ambareesh from Mandya) backed by it won in one seat. The Congress and JD(S) won one seat each.

With the alliance with JD(S), BJP hopes to win ”maximum number of seats” in Karnataka, party sources said, adding that it (BJP) particularly wants to increase its prospects in the Old Mysuru region, where the regional outfit has a strong presence and the saffron party is perceived to be a marginal player.

For the JD(S), it is a matter of survival, and the party hopes to better its prospects, with the forging of an alliance with the BJP in the backdrop of the Congress’ reported attempts to weaken it by wooing its leaders, party sources said. The JD(S) had earlier formed governments in coalition with both the BJP and the Congress respectively for 20 months from January 2006, and for 14 months from May 2018, with Kumaraswamy as the Chief Minister.