BENGALURU: Don’t be surprised if you see Congress Legislative Party leader Siddaramaiah and Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy in a single frame more often.

Post the Lok Sabha debacle, the Congress and JDS are keen to turn around the public perception that “all is not well within the coalition”.

As the first step towards building confidence among the people and party leaders about the stability of the government, Siddaramaiah and Kumaraswamy have decided to be ‘seen’ together, coordinating, talking, discussing and strategising.

There have been at least three meetings in four days, including on Tuesday evening, and multiple phone calls between the two senior leaders ever since the Lok Sabha results. KPCC chief Dinesh Gundurao also took part in the meeting, held at Kumara Krupa guest house.

Kumaraswamy will also be part of a Congress senior leaders’ meeting on Wednesday headed by AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal, ahead of the Congress Legislative Party meet.

The Congress has rushed two of its key leaders, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Venugopal, to take stock of the situation in Karnataka.

A decision on how to address dissent from the likes of Roshan Baig and Ramesh Jarkiholi is likely to be discussed at Wednesday’s meeting. On Tuesday morning, Water Resources Minister DK Shivakumar visited Kumaraswamy.

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“They held a meeting for about half an hour. The poll debacle was discussed. Both leaders agreed that the focus should now be stability of the government,” said a source privy to the meeting.

JDS leaders have been advised against making any statements that could hurt the impression of the Kumaraswamy-led coalition government. The Congress has asked its leaders to buck up and work in tandem.

Kumaraswamy, in fact, took the initiative of visiting Siddaramaiah at his residence, Cauvery, on Friday, when he called for an informal meeting with his cabinet colleagues. He had also met Siddaramaiah on Sunday evening.

“There is a need to debunk public perception that the coalition partners are not on good terms. Dissent and rebellion have already been quelled, and putting up a united front will stall BJP’s poaching attempts,” said a leader of the Congress. Kumaraswamy’s aides, too, agree.

“The Chief Minister realises that coordination between the partners needs more visibility. There will be no place for misunderstandings anymore and issues will be sorted out, taking both parties into confidence,” a source close to Kumaraswamy said.