BJP-JDS alliance in works for LS polls, says BSY; no announcement yet from Deve Gowda’s party

“The BJP and the JD(S) will form an alliance. (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah has agreed to give four Lok Sabha seats (to the JD(S)). This will strengthen us in a big way. It will facilitate wins in 25 to 26 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka,” Yediyurappa said amid speculation that Deve Gowda held meetings with Shah and BJP president J P Nadda during a recent visit to Delhi. He added he would meet Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy to take the alliance forward.

JD(S) sources said the revelation of the alliance was premature since some of the finer details are yet to be worked out. The JD(S) is set to hold a meeting of leaders and office-bearers on September 10 and a formal announcement on the BJP alliance is expected by September 13 in a subsequent meeting of party leaders.

“We don’t know why this has come out today since things are still under consideration and nothing has been finalised yet. There are talks of going for an internal alliance rather than an overt alliance. It is still at an immature stage,” a JD(S) source said.

Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy did not comment on the alliance announcement by Yediyurappa. Deve Gowda, 90, said on social media that he would not attend a G20 dinner being hosted by President Droupadi Murmu in New Delhi on Saturday for “health reasons”.

JD(S)’s core committee chief and former minister G T Deve Gowda said many leaders in the party were of the view that the JD(S) should ally with the BJP “for its survival in the long run”.

Senior BJP leaders in Karnataka Pralhad Joshi and C T Ravi denied knowledge of a proposed alliance with the JD(S).