Saffron party to pacify JD-S after it fumes over 'big brother' BJP

The BJP brass was taken aback after JD-S leaders openly expressed unhappiness on Monday over the allocation of just two out of 28 seats in Karnataka, accusing the bigger partner of jeopardising the future of their partnership.

BJP leaders in Karnataka say they have taken the criticism seriously and are ready to engage with JD-S leaders.

Nadda for peace

BJP president JP Nadda reportedly told the state BJP chief, BY Vijayendra, to promptly get in touch with JD-S leader and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda over seat-sharing hiccups. In response to Vijayendra’s telephonic call, Deve Gowda underlined the anger in his party over Lok Sabha constituencies where the JD-S, he claimed, enjoys significant support but which have been denied to it. The JD-S sought four seats including Mandya, Hassan, Kolar/Chikkaballapur and Tumkuru. The BJP agreed to leave only Mandya and Hassan to the JDS.

Deve Gowda’s concerns

A BJP leader told The Federal on the condition of anonymity that Deve Gowda wanted the BJP to address the issue without delay. Deve Gowda and Vijayendra also discussed inviting JD-S leaders to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's election rallies in Congress-ruled Karnataka. Deve Gowda is known to command a large chunk of Vokkaliga support, more so in the Old Mysuru region.

Vijayendra told the media on Tuesday that he had spoken to Deve Gowda as well as his son and former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy.

BJP reacts

"Minor issues within the alliance will be resolved soon. Our national leaders will make decisions regarding seat-sharing and other such matters. Nothing has spiralled out of control as speculated by the media," he said. "Whatever the minor differences between the BJP and JD-S, everything will have a happy ending. We are confident that our national leaders will take appropriate decisions in a way that will satisfy the JD-S as well,” he added.

Pleasing JD-S brass

The BJP, however, told the JD-S that it had already fielded CN Manjunath, Deve Gowda's son-in-law, on BJP ticket in Bengaluru Rural against Congress MP DK Suresh.

"We accommodated him at the request of the Deve Gowda family, given that DK Suresh is a common political adversary of both the JD-S and BJP,” a party leader said.

The BJP said it refrained from fielding CP Yogeshwar from that constituency due to Deve Gowda’s wishes. The BJP source said the Kolar seat may be given to the JD-S.

Kumaraswamy speaks

Meanwhile, Kumaraswamy, who is reportedly heading to Chennai for medical issues, said the two parties were in talks on resolving their differences. "We never expressed any discontent against the BJP,” he claimed. “We are working to improve our relations to defeat the Congress.”

The Congress, the BJP and the JD-S fought last year’s Assembly elections separately. After the Congress ousted the BJP from power and the JD-S finished a poor third, the BJP and JD-S decided to bury their differences to take on the Congress unitedly.