2024 Lok Sabha elections: BS Yediyurappa, the former Karnataka Chief Minister, on Friday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will have an understanding with the HD Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular) for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The veteran leader, who is also a BJP Parliamentary Board member, claimed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has agreed to give four Lok Sabha seats to the JDS as part of a poll understanding with the BJP. The announcement has shot up the political temperature in the state.
BJP and JDS will have an understanding
"I'm happy about that, Deve Gowda ji has met our Prime Minister, and already they have finalised four seats. I welcome that.... I feel happy, BJP and JD(S) will have an understanding. Amit Shah (Union Home Minister) has agreed to give four Lok Sabha seats (to JD(S))," the four-time Chief Minister said in response to a question.
Speaking to reporters, he said, "This has given us great strength and this will help us in winning 25 or 26 Lok Sabha seats together."
'Will fight the Lok Sabha elections independently'
Earlier, former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda had said that the JDS would fight the Lok Sabha elections independently. "JDS will field candidates for Lok Sabha polls only in segments where the party is strong, after consulting cadres," said Deve Gowda, according to the news agency PTI.
"Whether we (the party) win five, six, three, two or one seats, we will fight the Lok Sabha elections independently", he said. "We will field candidates only in those places where we are strong after consulting with our workers".
Karnataka has a total of 28 Lok Sabha constituencies. In the 2019 elections, the BJP swept Karnataka by winning 25 seats. The Congress and JDS in an alliance secured one seat each. Sumalatha, the Independent candidate backed by the BJP, won the Mandya Lok Sabha seat.
In the 2023 Karnataka Assembly Elections, the Congress party dealt a major blow to the BJP and the JDS by winning a whopping 135 seats in the 224-member strong Assembly. The BJP was reduced to just 66 seats while the JDS won only 19 seats in the elections. The in-depth analysis shows that the Congress party was ahead in 18 Lok Sabha seats while the BJP was in the lead in just 8 seats. The JDS was ahead in the remaining 2 seats (Hassan and Tumkur).
(With agencies input)
