A joint coordination meeting of both BJP and JD(S) leaders has been called on March 29 in Bengaluru to ensure that there is proper understanding between leaders and workers of both parties in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy said on Tuesday.
JD(S) joined the NDA last September and has forged an electoral alliance with the BJP in Karnataka and as per arrangement JD(S) will be contesting in three seats --Mandya, Hassan and Kolar.
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"I spoke to the state BJP President B Y Vijayendra over phone regarding calling a coordination meeting of both BJP and JD(S) leaders on March 29, so there is proper understanding between both party workers from top to bottom in all the 28 Lok Sabha constituencies," Kumaraswamy said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, there should not be a repeat of the mistakes that happened when JD(S) was in alliance with Congress in the past.
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{{/usCountry}}"With trust between both parties (BJP-JD(S)), the campaigning should happen with ease...to ensure that a meeting has been called on March 29 which will be attended by more than hundred leaders from both parties," he added.
JD(S) had earlier formed governments in coalition with Congress for 14 months from May 2018, with Kumaraswamy as the Chief Minister. Both parties had fought the 2019 Lok Sabha polls together and got just one seat each, while BJP bagged 25 seats and even ensured that an independent supported by it won in Mandya.
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According to political observers, for the BJP-JD(S) alliance to click, it goes without saying that ground level coordination and understanding among their workers and transfer of votes to each other are essential, which did not happen in the case of the regional party's alliance with Congress.
Kumaraswamy said there will be a joint coordination committee and workers' meeting of both parties from Mysuru and Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha constituencies in Mysuru on Wednesday.
"I will be participating in this meeting. It will be attended by BJP leaders too," he said, adding that similar meetings will be held in Koppal and Tumakuru and directions have been issued to other districts too to organise such meetings.