HD Kumaraswamy said he was going to Delhi for personal work (File)
JD(S) state chief HD Kumaraswamy left for Delhi today amid speculation that he is likely to meet the BJP central leadership over seat-sharing in Karnataka for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The JD(S) joined the BJP-led NDA in September after former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy met with Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda in the national capital.
Leaders of both parties have since been maintaining that talks are yet to take place on seat sharing for the polls.
Though Mr Kumaraswamy said he was going to Delhi for personal work, his nephew and JD(S) MP from Hassan Prajwal Revanna hinted at a meeting between JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi tomorrow.
"No seat-sharing talks... Is my trip to Delhi also special? There is nothing special about the Delhi trip. I'm going on personal work... There is nothing. I will come back to talk to you," Mr Kumaraswamy told reporters at the airport.
However, Mr Revanna said: "Tomorrow our elders (Deve Gowda) will be meeting the Prime Minister and will discuss issues concerning the state."
According to JD(S) sources, HD Kumaraswamy is likely to meet the BJP leadership to take the alliance forward and discuss seat sharing.
Also, as Deve Gowda, who is a Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka, is in Delhi to attend the Parliament session, they are likely to meet the PM.
Meanwhile, Karnataka BJP president BY Vijayendra, also travelling to Delhi, added to speculation over seat-sharing talks. Mr Vijayendra said he was going to the capital to attend a party meeting.
"On December 22 and 23, there is a meeting of all state presidents of the party in Delhi. So I'm going to attend it. During the visit, naturally, I will try to meet all party leaders and the national president (JP Nadda), and try to discuss the appointment of state office-bearers of the party," he said.
Asked about talks on seat sharing with the JD(S), Mr Vijayendra said, both parties are in the alliance, but there is no information about how many seats JD(S) wants to contest in the Lok Sabha polls.
"They (JD(S) leaders) will discuss everything with our national leaders. We (state leaders) will also discuss with them. There have been no preliminary discussions on seat sharing yet. JD(S)' demands will be discussed by the national leadership and the state unit will share its opinion," he said.
The JD(S) contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in alliance with the Congress. The two parties were then running an alliance government under the Chief Ministership of HD Kumaraswamy back then. The BJP swept the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka, winning 25 seats, while an Independent (Sumalatha Ambareesh from Mandya) backed by it won. The Congress and JD(S) won a seat each.
With the alliance with JD(S), BJP hopes to win the "maximum number of seats" in Karnataka, party sources said, adding that it particularly wants to increase its prospects in the Old Mysuru region, where the regional outfit has a strong presence and the party is perceived to be a marginal player.
For the JD(S), it is a matter of survival, and the party hopes to better its prospects, with the forging of an alliance with the BJP in the backdrop of the Congress' reported attempts to weaken it by wooing its leaders, party sources said.
The JD(S) had earlier formed governments in coalition with the BJP and the Congress respectively for 20 months from January 2006, and for 14 months from May 2018, with HD Kumaraswamy as the Chief Minister.