Will Finalise 2024 Seat-Sharing With BJP By January End: JD(S)' HD Kumaraswamy

Karnataka JD(S) chief HD Kumaraswamy said his party will complete seat-sharing talks for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections with the BJP by January end.

Mr Kumaraswamy, who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi with JD(S) national president HD Deve Gowda, said the matter was discussed at the meeting.

The BJP and the JD(S) joined hands in Karnataka after the Congress won the state polls earlier this year.

"Seat-sharing (talks) between the two parties will be completed comfortably by the end of January. There will be no hurdle in that," Mr Kumaraswamy told reporters in Delhi.

Asked how many seats the JD(S) will seek, the former Karnataka Chief Minister said, "The number of seats does not matter. We will claim winnable seats."

The alliance with the BJP has been formed to give a befitting reply to the Congress, which wants to finish the JD(S) in Karnataka, he said.

The JD(S) won one Lok Sabha seat in the 2019 general elections. Sources said the party is likely to ask for at least four-five seats for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

On the Congress' allegations that the BJP is trying to destabilise its government in Karnataka, Mr Kumaraswamy said, "Anything is possible. In Karnataka too, there are Ajit Pawar and (Eknath) Shinde."

He accused the Congress of double standards, saying while it has been raising the issue of Parliament security breach, it ignored the security lapse that occurred in the Karnataka assembly in July.

"One unnamed person sat on an MLA's chair for an hour while the assembly session was going on in Karnataka. Why did the Congress friends not raise the issue at that time? Here in the parliament, they are raising the (issue of) security breach to stall the proceedings," he said.

He also targeted Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over his remarks on the importance of a strong opposition and alleged that attempts were being made to finish the JD(S) in the state.

"Does he mean that there should be a strong Opposition at the Centre and not in the state?" he said.

In the meeting with PM Modi, HD Kumaraswamy said he raised several issues concerning Karnataka, including a demand for increasing the minimum support price for copra amid falling prices and inclusion of the Kaadu Gollaru community in the Scheduled Tribes list so members can avail reservation benefits.

HD Deve Gowda's second son and MLA HD Revanna and his grandson Prajwal Revanna - an MP from Hassan - accompanied him for the meeting with PM Modi in Delhi.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)