Karnataka elections: Congress, BJP reached out, claims Janata Dal (Secular)

The HD Kumaraswamy-led Janata Dal (Secular) on Thursday reportedly claimed that they received feelers from both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress as most exit polls indicated a hung assembly in Karnataka. While Kumaraswamy is currently in Singapore, a senior leader claimed that the JD(S)) has already decided who they will partner with, according to the news outlet NDTV.

• The JD(S) is hoping to retain its stronghold in 37 seats with some newly-welcomed turncoats from the Congress and BJP.
• It is worth remembering that the saffron brigade came to power in the state after successfully toppling the coalition government of the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) in 2019.
• Notably, no party has won two consecutive terms in Karnataka.

Furthermore, the report claimed that the party has already made the decision on who they will form a post-poll alliance with and that the decision will be officially announced when it's the "right time." "The decision is done. It's taken. We will announce it to the public when it is right time to," revealed JD (S) spokesperson Tanveer Ahmed.

"Nobody can form a government without us. That is a good number, I think. We could not match the resources of the national parties in terms of money, might, muscle," Ahmed further stated. "We were a weak party. But we know we performed enough to be a part of the government," the senior leader added.

Meanwhile, the saffron brigade has refuted the claims of reaching out to the JD(S). BJP leader Shobha Karandlaje claimed that there is "no question of forming a coalition at all." "We are sure to get 120 seats. After gathering information on ground from our karyakartas yesterday, we have arrived at a number -- 120," added Karandlaje.

The BJP insists that all previous exit poll forecasts have fallen flat, with no survey predicting the saffron brigade's victory in both the Lok Sabha and the Karnataka elections. Former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and National General Secretary BL Santhosh have also claimed that the BJP will secure a majority in the Karnataka polls.

Earlier on Wednesday, Karnataka underwent a single-phase Assembly poll for all its 224 Assembly seats. The counting of votes will be done on Saturday. With the 2024 Lok Sabha elections just over a year away, everyone's attention is on the southern state as it plays a significant role in South Indian politics.