BJP-JD(S) alliance buzz: Talks in initial stage, decision after party meet, says Kumaraswamy

#WATCH | Bengaluru, Karnataka: On BJP-JD(S) Alliance, former Karnataka CM & JD(S) Leader HD Kumaraswamy says, “Yediyurappa’s yesterday reaction is his personal reaction. Until now, there has been no discussion on seat sharing or anything. We have met cordially 2 or 3 times. Later… pic.twitter.com/8XQckO5nR7

— ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2023

“These are all preliminary-level talks. Whether Deve Gowda has agreed or not will be revealed in the coming days. From the perspective of the state and the bad governance by the current regime, some decisions will be taken,” Kumaraswamy told reporters at his Bengaluru residence on Saturday where he is convalescing after a recent health scare.

“We will place all issues before the party workers. This is why we have called the meeting on Sunday,” he said. The JD(S) has called around 10,000 party workers for the September 10 meeting with H D Deve Gowda, state president C M Ibrahim and party leaders in attendance.

“Former chief minister Yediyurappa has spoken about an alliance. I am indebted to him. He has spoken of an alliance to fight against the Congress government in Karnataka. Those who are looting the state must be controlled. In 2006 also I had joined hands with the BJP to form a government,” Kumaraswamy said, adding that there is more time for the alliance. “There are many issues that have to be discussed; it is not about give and take but about trust and respect,” he said.

On Friday, Yediyurappa had said that the BJP national leaders had agreed to share four of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka with the JD(S).

“The BJP and JD(S) will form an alliance. (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah has agreed to give four Lok Sabha seats (to JDS). 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 visit to Delhi on September 4 after speaking on the phone with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with whom he enjoys a cordial relationship.

After the meeting of leaders and office-bearers on September 10, the JD(S) is set to hold a second meeting of its top leaders on September 13, where a formal announcement on the alliance with BJP is expected to emerge.

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

Karnataka BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel met JD(S) leader and former Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy at his residence in Bengaluru after he was discharged from hospital. pic.twitter.com/IHp1k6bdId

— ANI (@ANI) September 5, 2023

The ruling Congress in Karnataka, which had allied with the JD(S) in the past to form governments on account of a “shared secular outlook”, mocked the JD(S) for rushing into the arms of the BJP after suffering a big defeat in the state polls in May this year.

“I used to call the JD(S) the B team of the BJP and now this is being proved right. The JD(S) claims to have a secular ideology. They are called Janata Dal Secular, but now they have joined hands with communal forces,” Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Saturday.

“Deve Gowda said they would not join hands with any party. Now they are saying that they are doing this in order to save the party. This means they have no ideology or principles and they will do anything for power,” he said.

“They say different things on different days. Let them do what they want for their political survival. We are not bothered,” said state Congress chief and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.