As the pitch of poll campaign rises in the high-stake Karnataka elections, the Janata Dal (Secular) has sought to reach out to the BJP leadership amid speculation that both sides may have a tactical understanding in the pre and post-poll scenario.
JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy is understood to have interacted with the top BJP leaders here this week with both sides exploring possibilities of some constituency-wise adjustments in Karnataka.
JD(S) could not work out a seat sharing understanding with the BJP as the latter wanted to to increase its tally to the fullest. The JD(S) thereby opted for an alliance with the BSP while claiming that it was maintaining equidistance from the BJP and the Congress.
However, the JD(S), which was a coalition partner of the BJP in 2006 and parted company after a bitter spat, again fancies itself as a kingmaker in the event of a fractured mandate, sources said.
An understanding to help out each other’s stronger candidate could be worked out, said sources who confirmed meeting between BJP leadership and Kumaraswamy, son of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, the senior most Vokaliga OBC leader in the State.
The JD(S) is expected to cut into “secular votes” that may help the BJP. The JD(S) will also try to cut into the Congress’ major vote bank of the Dalit and OBC.
Against this backdrop, the Congress has sought to paint JD(S) as the B-team of the BJP, which, it said, was aiming to help the saffron party by eating into Congress vote-bank. Congress president Rahul Gandhi recently termed the JD(S) as JD(Sangh Parivar).