Happy News After Sankranti: JDS’ HD Kumaraswamy On 2024 Seat-Sharing With BJP

JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy on Saturday said he will give “happy news” after Sankranti about seat sharing agreement with the BJP for Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka.

The former chief minister also reiterated that the number of seats the JD(S) contests was not important for him or his party, as the aim is for NDA to win all 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

Kumaraswamy, along with JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda, had recently met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and had held discussions.

“After Sankranti (January 14), I will give you happy news. There is no issue,” Kumaraswamy said in response to a question on seat sharing with the BJP.

Speaking to reporters here, he said, “More than the number of constituencies, our intention is that NDA partners BJP and JD(S) should win all the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state.”

“Based on accurate survey reports, things will be decided…based on survey reports, things will be discussed and decided in Delhi,” he added.

The JD(S) joined the BJP-led NDA in September after a meeting Kumaraswamy had with Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president J P Nadda in the national capital.

Asked whether there was pressure on him to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Tumakuru, Kumaraswamy said, several people, including media friends, have been giving him some suggestions.

“At the appropriate time, I will decide how to take those suggestions.” To a question about him going into national politics, he said, “nothing like that, I have a lot of work to do in the state, as people in the state are facing a lot of issues…”

Kumaraswamy also targeted Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for not supporting the proposal for AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge — a fellow Kannadiga and a leader from the Dalit community — to be made the Prime Ministerial face of the INDIA bloc.

“Whether he (Kharge) becomes PM or not is a different matter. At least some other states’ chief ministers proposed his name, but you (Siddaramaiah) said Rahul Gandhi should become the prime minister… Does the Dalit community still believe such a leader (Siddaramaiah), I leave the decision to them,” he said.

Siddaramaiah on Thursday said Rahul Gandhi should become the prime minister of the country. His statement came even as some within the INDIA bloc have pitched for Mallikarjun Kharge to become the prime ministerial face of the alliance for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Kumaraswamy further said he would be happy if a Kannadiga becomes the prime minister, despite being in NDA. “…but, everyone knows what the situation of Congress and its alliance partners.”

Hitting out at Siddaramaiah, he questioned the need for appointing senior Congress MLAs B R Patil and Basavaraj Rayareddy, as his advisor and economic advisor respectively, with cabinet ranking.

Reacting to the government announcing a job fair in January last week, he urged the chief minister and his deputy D K Shivakumar to first begin appointing 2.5 lakh government jobs that are vacant and then do job fairs by inviting private players.

Kumaraswamy also seemed to come to the support of his alliance partner BJP, questioning the veracity of its senior MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal’s allegation that funds to the tune of Rs 40,000 crore were misappropriated during Covid-19, under the leadership of then Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa. The ruling Congress is using the matter to target its rival.

He urged the government to get the claims investigated, along with claims made against the Congress government by its own leaders in the past.