BJP now willing to concede 3 Lok Sabha seats to JD(S)

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Latest negotiations suggest that the BJP would be willing to concede up to three Lok Sabha seats to their allies JD(S) in the election slated for later this year.

Earlier, it was being said that two seats and a possible Rajya Sabha nomination would be as far as BJP would go to accommodate their prepoll alliance partner.

JD(S) had been hoping for a chance to contest from anywhere between four to six seats but the same seems unlikely now.

JD(S) state president HD Kumaraswamy and his son Nikhil held talks with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda in New Delhi on Thursday.

Kumaraswamy revealed that a seat sharing arrangement would be finalised after the consecration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22.

The BJP has sitting MPs in 25 of the 28 Lok Sabha constituencies, given their impressive performance in the 2019 general elections.

This leaves Congress with one MP from Bengaluru Rural in DK Suresh, the brother of Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar. Then Congress ally JD(S) had managed to secure a victory from Hassan, which is the home district of party national president HD Deve Gowda.

Moreover, independent MP Sumalatha Ambareesh had won from Mandya with BJP backing.

Hassan, Mandya fate sealed?

The saffron party had been willing to concede Hassan since JD(S) already has a sitting MP in the constituency, besides Mandya as they were open to retracting support from Sumalatha.

Both seats come under the Old Mysuru Vokkaliga heartland where the regional outfit still retains a presence. However, the BJP might concede one more seat in the same region to the JD(S).

The options given to the regional party are Bengaluru Rural, Tumakuru and Kolar. BJP leader CP Yogeshwar is also lobbying with both parties for a chance to contest from Bengaluru Rural.

However, it appears to be an easier seat for the saffron party to give up since they wouldn’t have to displace a sitting MP to do the same.