Congress-JD(S) to finalise seat sharing after Sankranti

The Congress is under pressure not to cede to the JD(S) any of the 9 seats it won in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, even as alliance partners are gearing up to hold seat-sharing talks for the upcoming polls.

The seat-sharing talks will commence after the Sankranti festival, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Dinesh Gundu Rao told reporters.

“We have decided to finalise candidates soon. So, the seat sharing will also be finalised soon,” he said.

The JD(S) has demanded 10-12 out of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka as part of its pre-poll alliance with the Congress. But sitting Congress MPs in Karnataka have asked the party not to ally with the JD(S) that the Congress won, KPCC working president Eshwar Khandre said.

“It’s justified, because these MPs won their seats despite the strong Modi wave in 2014. So, they have demanded that the Congress should retain these seats,” Khandre said.

The ability to win will be a significant criterion while deciding sharing of seats, Khandre said.

The former minister also hit out at the BJP for predicting the collapse of the Congress-JD(S) coalition after Sankranti. “Several BJP legislators - I can’t say how many - are in touch with me. They are on their toes to join the Congress. The BJP has become weak and there is no chance in hell that they will form the government here,” he said.