The Congress has barely spoken of it but JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda wants seat-sharing between coalition partners to be finalised by the end of January.
The Congress has barely spoken of it but JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda wants seat-sharing between coalition partners to be finalised by the end of January. By raising the issue for the second time in less than a week, Gowda has put Congress under pressure to act. He said that going by the same 1/3rds ratio of the coalition pact, JD(S) could get around 10-11 seats and that there are no demands for specific seats.
“The Congress had given us unconditional support to form the government. We have a 1/3rd ratio agreement and this should apply to LS seat-sharing too. We will decide on it this month,” Gowda told media in New Delhi on Tuesday.
This comes after senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said that there were no talks yet on the
issue and all discussions will take place at the strategic committee meeting.
The statement comes after Congress’ tallest leader from Karnataka — Mallikarjun Kharge — said that there were no talks yet on the issue and all discussions will take place at the strategic committee meeting.
The first time Gowda broached the subject, he sought 12 seats for the JD(S) out of 28 seats in total. On Tuesday however, he scaled it down to 10-11 seats.
“There is no need to fight over it. We will cooperate. There will be clarity on seat-sharing once we discuss with state leaders,” he added. Sources from the Congress suggest that six-seven is the most the party can offer its coalition partner — a number far less than Gowda hopes for. “Knowing Deve Gowda, nothing he says is without reason.
While 12 is an unrealistic number to seek for the JD(S), if it is his way to hard bargaining with the Congress, it comes as no surprise,” said A Narayana, Political Analyst and commentator when Gowda had first spoken abou t seat-sharing.
Backing former chief minister Siddaramaiah, Gowda accused the BJP of nursing hopes of toppling the coalition government. Asserting that Siddaramaiah was right in pointing out to the possibilities of horse-trading, Gowda asserted that the government in Karnataka was in no danger. “Siddaramaiah had been chief minister for full five years.
He has spoken about BJP’s attempts of bribing legislators because he had solid information. He has spoken responsibly,” Gowda said. He also mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for getting his facts wrong over the farm loan waiver. Reiterating numbers from the Chief Minister’s Office, Gowda said that 2.2 lakh farmers will benefit from the farm loan waiver and PM Modi had incorrectly claimed that only 800 had benefitted.
Agencies
