The coalition partners Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) are yet to begin formal talks on sharing of seats for the Lok Sabha polls. But according to sources, the former may settle on the JD(S) contesting in six to seven seats.
The JD(S) has been seeking 10 to 12 seats, while it won two seats — Hassan and Mandya — in the 2014 elections. Congress sources said the party has decided not to surrender constituencies that it had won in 2014.
The JD(S) has strength in the southern districts of the State, but the Congress has won quite a few seats in the region, such as Tumakuru, Kolar, Chickballapur, Bengaluru Rural, and Chamarajangar. Even so, the JD(S) is expected to bargain hard to secure a few of the constituencies where the Congress had won in 2014. At the same time, a senior leader of the Congress told The Hindu , “But we will not give seats where we have won to the JD(S).”
K.C. Venugopal, AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka, had said a couple of days ago that seat-sharing talks with the JD(S) would be a smooth affair. The Congress and JD(S) leaders are expected to finalise LS seats soon, he had said.
JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda had also said recently that the party would ask for 12 seats, but it would settle for a “reasonable” number of about 10. The JD(S) has been harping on a 2:1 formula in seat-sharing.
The Congress is expected to draw a list of constituencies where the party has strength by the month-end. The seat-sharing issue is also expected to figure prominently in the next meeting of the coordination committee to be chaired by former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
