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Journalism of Courage
JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy on Tuesday said that discussions were on to enter into an alliance with the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and other parties for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections.
He told reporters at Hubballi that AIMIM had “asked for three to four seats”.
“We will think about the seats we can vacate (for AIMIM) and then finalise,” he added.
A week ago, AIMIM state president Usman Ghani had said that they had reached out to the JD(S) for an alliance, adding that the party would field candidates in 25 constituencies.
On whether JD(S) would contest all 224 seats in the coming polls, Kumaraswamy said that the party was looking for coalition partners in some seats. “Whether the coalition will materialise is uncertain,” he said.
Responding to questions regarding the ongoing dispute over the candidate for Hassan constituency, he dismissed it as a ‘minor issue’. At Hassan, Bhavani Revanna, wife of HD Revanna – elder brother of Kumaraswamy – has staked claim for the seat, whereas Kumaraswamy is backing H P Swaroop, son of former Hassan MLA H S Prakash. He said that the party would decide on the candidate based on the views of JD(S) workers in the constituency.
“In JD(S), if there is confusion over one seat, BJP has disputes over hundreds of seats. They have hundreds of Hassan,” he said, responding to a question on BJP’s delay in announcing its first list of candidates.
