BJP to tie up with JDS for 2024 Lok Sabha; Yediyurappa says ‘4 seats confirmed’

Bengaluru: Former Chief Minister of Karnataka and BJP leader BS Yediyurappa on Friday claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has secured a tie up with Janata Dal (Secular) for the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

The two parties will have an understanding in Karnataka for both Lok Sabha and local body elections.

“I am happy that Deve Gowda ji met our Prime Minister and they have already finalised about 4 seats. I welcome them,” Yediyurappa said while speaking to  reporters in Bengaluru.

Meanwhile, Congress MLC Jagdish Shettar took a jibe at the announcement of the alliance between the BJP and JD(S) and said two helpless parties have formed an alliance.

“It is up to the JD(S) and the BJP to form an alliance in the Lok Sabha elections. They made an alliance before the assembly elections also, then it broke. Now they are talking about alliance again. You loose the trust of people after forming alliances based on your convenience. Along with this, the credibility of the respective parties also goes,” he said.

On Wednesday the JDS had held a meeting in Bengaluru at the residence of former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy in the presence of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda to guage the opinion of MLAs and senior leaders on an alliance with the BJP.

For the JDS which won only 19 seats in the 2023 Assembly elections and was struggling to retain its cadre the alliance comes as a shot in the arm. The BJP which enjoys support amongst the Lingayat community in Karnataka will now hope to gain from JDS vote base amongst the Vokkaligas the other dominant community in Karnataka.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha Polls, JDS had won just one Loksabha seat from the family pocket borough of Hassan where HD Devegowda had made way for grand nephew Prajwal Revanna. Now Prajwal Revanna’s Loksabha membership is also at stake as the High court of Karnataka has disqualified him, stating that Prajwal had filed false affidavits during the 2018-2019 general election.

The BJP which enjoys the support of the Lingayats in Karnataka is looking to gain by allying with the JDS which has a strong base amongst the Vokkaligas the other dominant caste in Karnataka.