Karnataka: Congress-JD(S) seat-sharing finalized; JD(S) gets Lok Sabha 10 seats
What's the story
Karnataka's ruling alliance partners, Congress and Janata Dal (Secular), today finalized a deal for the sharing of Lok Sabha seats in the southern state for the upcoming General Election.
The agreement was finalized at a meeting in Delhi between Congress President Rahul Gandhi and former PM and JD(S) chief, HD Devegowda.
JD(S) would reportedly contest from 10 LS seats in the state.
Here's more.
Details
Other important aspects of seat-sharing pact yet to be finalized
Other important aspects of the Congress-JD(S) seat-sharing pact, including identification of the seats, will be taken care of by the General Secretaries of both the parties.
"Our focus is to win the elections with as many seats for the alliance and we will concede a seat or so. Our General Secretary Danish Ali and Congress's GS Venugopal will hold further discussions," Devegowda said.
Seats
Ultimately, I have clinched 10 seats, says Devegowda
JD(S) earlier wanted to fight from 12 constituencies but later "scaled down". "Earlier, I had demanded 12 seats...today ultimately, I have clinched 10 seats," Devegowda said after meeting Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.
Devegowda earlier indicated that JD(S) was "ready to be flexible"; he asked Rahul to follow the 1/3 and 2/3 formula used by both the parties for Cabinet formation, nominations, ad board corporations.
Hurdle?
Sharing of contentious seats, biggest hurdle for Congress and JD(S)
A senior JD(S) leader said that the number of seats is not a problem in Karnataka, unlike other states, but the choice of seats is an issue, according to NDTV.
Both Congress and JD(S) are eyeing crucial seats like Mysuru, Tumkur, and Chitradurga, the sharing of which is likely to turn into a huge hurdle for the alliance partners.
Quote
The benefit for JD(S) depends on seats
Whether the JD(S) is going to benefit from the seat-sharing deal will be determined in the consequent discussions held by both the parties. Narendra Pani, political scientist and faculty at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) said, "It depends on the seats they get."
The coalition
Indicator of how well Congress can work with regional parties
Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, the Karnataka coalition is being keenly watched. The Karnataka coalition is being seen as an indicator of how well the Rahul Gandhi-led party is able to work with regional parties.
Meanwhile, BJP is seeing the coalition as an indicator of the Grand Alliance's cohesiveness. Karnataka coalition's failure would be seen the lack of unity among Opposition parties.