Deve Gowda’s Janta Dal Secular joins NDA alliance

Karnataka's Janata Dal (Secular) has joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. The announcement was made Friday afternoon after senior JDS leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP presidentJP Nadda in Delhi. No details have been released so far about seat-sharing in the southern state."I am happy that JD(S) has decided to be a part of National Democratic Alliance. We wholeheartedly welcome them in the NDA," Nadda said in a post on X.

Met Former Chief Minister of Karnataka and JD(S) leader Shri H.D. Kumaraswamy in the presence of our senior leader and Home Minister Shri @AmitShah Ji.
I am happy that JD(S) has decided to be the part of National Democratic Alliance. We wholeheartedly welcome them in the NDA.… pic.twitter.com/eRDUdCwLJc

— Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) September 22, 2023

The move comes a day after HD Deve Gowda and his son HD Kumaraswamy met Amit Shah and JP Nadda in Parliament. The meeting was held to discuss the alliance between JD(S) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.In the 2019 Lok Sabha election the JDS performed poorly; it won just one seat and secured only nine-odd percent of the votes. Results were slightly better in the Assembly election held earlier this year, in which it claimed around 14 per cent of the votes and 19 seats; this was down from 37 in 2018.

(Dr Mysi Patil, State Coffrespondent)