In preliminary seat-sharing talks concluded in New Delhi on Thursday, the BJP and the Janata Dal (Secular), its new alliance partner in Karnataka for the Lok Sabha polls, have decided to work with “mutual trust and consultation” in the choice of candidates for the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

In the first round of talks held at the residence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday night with JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy, the BJP leadership comprising the Home Minister and national president J P Nadda offered the JD(S) three seats, sources in the JD(S) familiar with developments at the meeting indicated on Thursday.

The BJP incidentally won 25 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka while the JD(S) won only Hassan that is the family borough of JD(S) leader and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda. The BJP has now offered its ally Hassan and Mandya, which is the epicentre of the dominant Vokkaliga agricultural community that has allied with the party for over four decades, said JD(S) insiders. The Mandya seat was won in 2019 by the Independent candidate Sumalatha Ambarish with the backing of the BJP and Congress. She defeated Kumaraswamy’s son Nikhil Kumaraswamy in the election.

The BJP has also offered the choice of a third seat from among Kolar, Bengaluru Rural, and Tumkur, said JD(S) sources. All the seats offered by the BJP are in the Vokkaliga belt in southern Karnataka where the party has traditionally fought the Congress as its main rival on account of the BJP lacking a base in the region.

The JD(S) that is keen on contesting around five seats to preserve its political standing in the state has asked the BJP to allot one seat in north Karnataka where the party has a small base in the Hyderabad Karnataka region. The JD(S) was waiting to see if the BJP will allot Raichur when seat-sharing is formalised, said party insiders.

“The decision on seat sharing and other issues for the Lok Sabha polls will be taken after the conclusion of the pran prathishta event in Ayodhya (on January 22). The BJP and JD(S) will take into confidence the respective state leaders of the two parties for all decisions,” Kumaraswamy said Thursday about agreements reached at the meeting the day before. “The two parties are working with a lot of mutual respect on the issue of seat sharing. There is no confusion and questions. I want to make this clear.”

BJP leaders told Kumaraswamy at the meeting at Shah’s house that they would consult the JD(S) on all candidates in all the seats and the JD(S) agreed to do likewise about its own candidates. Kumaraswamy said the BJP leadership had obtained survey reports to understand the state of politics in all the constituencies in Karnataka. He said the JD(S) had also obtained survey reports. “These reports were discussed extensively and with open minds,” he said.

Of the two seats offered to it, the JD(S) is reportedly in a piquant situation about its candidate for Hassan as Deve Gowda’s grandson and incumbent MP Prajwal Revanna does not enjoy cordial relations with local BJP leaders. The JD(S), in consultation with the BJP, is considering alternative candidates for Hassan, sources said. The name of a doctor son-in-law of the former PM is being circulated even though the JD(S) leader himself emphasised last week that he would “bless” Prajwal Revanna again.

Mandya is a constituency from where Kumaraswamy himself may enter the poll fray. Kumaraswamy said Thursday there was pressure on him from party workers to contest the elections. “Workers from Tumkur, Chikkaballapur, Mandya, and Bengaluru Rural seats are exerting pressure. The decision on me contesting in the Lok Sabha polls will be taken by the leaders of the two parties during seat discussions,” he said.

According to JD(S) sources, the BJP has offered the Bengaluru Rural seat to the JD(S) but the party is keen that BJP candidate C P Yogeshwara should be contesting the seat with JD(S) support. Since 2013, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar’s brother D K Suresh has thrice won the seat. Kumaraswamy had won from the constituency in 2009.

The JD(S) is considering the Kolar reserved seat as its third option on account of the party enjoying good support in the region and due to anti-incumbency factors against BJP MP S Muniswamy. The JD(S) was considering backing former BJP minister V Somanna for the Tumkur seat but the former minister has appeared reluctant to contest from there in recent days, leaving it open for JD(S) to consider a candidate, said sources in the regional party.

The possibility of Deve Gowda who lost the 2019 polls from Tumkur entering the fray from the constituency again — or Hassan or Mandya — is not completely ruled out despite the former PM stating last week that he would not contest the polls.

The Congress is likely to field its former MP Mudde Hanumegowda from Tumkur. Hanumegowda was forced to vacate the seat for Deve Gowda in 2019 and he later joined the BJP. He now seems set to return to the Congress after meeting with top leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. Both Hanumegowda and Deve Gowda enjoy sympathy in Tumkur after being shortchanged in the 2019 polls.

“In the 45-minute meeting, I had an open discussion with the Home Minister and the BJP national president. The NDA must return to power at the Centre and Narendra Modi should be the PM again. We discussed how this could be achieved through the BJP-JD(S) alliance,” Kumaraswamy said after the meeting in Delhi.