HDK meets Mamata, requests her to campaign in K'taka polls

Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee will campaign for Janata Dal (Secular) in Karnataka for the upcoming assembly elections. Banerjee met H D Kumaraswamy, Janata Dal (S) leader and former Karnataka chief minister, at her residence on Friday evening in Kolkata.

“I will come and campaign for JD(S) whenever you call me,” Banerjee was quoted by Kumarswami, in a note issued by the party in Bangalore. Banerjee has asked for the (campaign) schedule, once it’s ready.

Kumaraswamy expressed happiness at Banerjee agreeing for the campaign, and also informed the Trinamool supremo about the Pancharatna campaign being carried out by his party in Karnataka.

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According to JD(S), Banerjee also shared with Kumaraswamy that despite extreme and harassing situation by the Centre (with BJP in power), the Trinamool still managed to come to power, with the blessings of the people, and similarly, the JD(S) will also come to power in Karnataka this time.

While no formal press interactions took place after the meeting, speculations are rife about a conversation on possible permutations in the Opposition space. The meeting happened after Banerjee’s recent interactions with two other prominent Opposition leaders in the last one week.

Banerjee had met Samajwadi chief Akhilesh Yadav, last Friday, at her residence. On Thursday, during her Odisha visit, Banerjee had held a meeting with the BJD president Naveen Patnaik. Banerjee is also expected to visit the national capital in near future, where she may have an interaction with other parties in the Opposition.

The two leaders discussed the upcoming Karnataka elections, and the development in national politics, besides Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification and other issues, the JD(S) note, shared in Bangalore, mentioned.

The Trinamool official handle shared the meeting’s photographs: “Former CM of Karnataka and Janata Dal (S) leader Shri HD Kumaraswamy called upon Hon'ble CM Smt Mamata Banerjee today, in Kalighat, Kolkata.

Banerjee had attended Kumaraswamy’s swearing-in ceremony in May 2018. Kumaraswamy, too, had come to Kolkata to attend the Trinamool-initiated Opposition rally in Kolkata in 2019. The JD(S) has already announced a pre-poll pact with KCR’s Bharat Rashtra Samiti, with an ambitious target of winning 123 seats in the state. The party currently has 32 MLAs.