Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday met Janata Dal (Secular) chief HD Deve Gowda to discuss the sharing of seats between the two parties in Karnataka for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, ANI reported. The two leaders met at the former prime minister’s home in New Delhi.
Karnataka sends 28 members to the Lok Sabha – 15 seats are currently held by the BJP, 10 by the Congress and two by the Janata Dal (Secular).
“There are 28 seats in all,” Gowda told reporters, according to ANI. “I have clinched 10 seats. Final decision will be taken after Rahul Gandhi discusses it with [Congress leader] KC Venugopal and [JDS General Secretary] Danish Ali.”
The Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) are in an alliance in the Karnataka government and have been part of the discussions to form a “grand alliance” against the BJP for the Lok Sabha elections. They had joined hands after Assembly elections in May 2018 threw up a hung verdict. The Bharatiya Janata Party, which was the single largest party, was unable to form government.
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