Lok Sabha polls: Former Karnataka Chief Minister and JD(S) state president HD Kumaraswamy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda in the national capital to discuss the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. However, following the meeting the JD(S) leader said that the seat-sharing discussions will take place after the Ram Temple inauguration in Ayodhya on January 22.
Nikhil Kumaraswamy, the son of Kumaraswamy and the state president of the JDS youth wing, along with former MP Kupendra Reddy, were also present in the meeting at Shah's residence in Delhi on Wednesday.
Discussion on seat-sharing after Ram temple consecration
During his meeting with the key BJP leaders, Kumaraswamy had an open discussion on the JDS-BJP alliance, preparations for upcoming Lok Sabha elections and other important issues. "The Home Minister and Nadda had a discussion with the JD(S) leaders for more than 45 minutes on state politics, seat sharing and the issue of alliance," Kumaraswamy said in a statement.
He said that mainly, the political developments in Karnataka were discussed with senior BJP leaders and the Home Minister was informed about the drought situation in the state.
The former Chief Minister said that Home Minister Shah told him that he would discuss the formal inclusion of JD(S) into the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and seat sharing after the completion of the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, in the presence of Nadda.
The leaders were in agreement that the NDA should secure victory in all 28 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, and Narendra Modi should be re-elected as the Prime Minister.
'Decisions on basis of trust and faith'
Shah and Nadda told Kumaraswamy that BJP and JD(S) should take all the decisions to face the election on the basis of trust and faith.
Highlighting the existence of a "strong anti-incumbency wave" against the Congress government in Karnataka, just a year after its formation, Kumaraswamy mentioned that they deliberated on strategies to effectively communicate the shortcomings of the state government to the public.
The JD(S) joined the NDA in September last year after a meeting H D Kumaraswamy, former prime minister Deve Gowda's son, had with Home Minister Shah and BJP national president Nadda in New Delhi. Both parties have said they would fight the coming Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka together.
Notably, the BJP had won 25 seats in the 2019 polls while JDS and Congress had one each. Independent candidate Sumalatha had won from Mandya.
(With PTI inputs)
