Bangalore: The Janata Dal (Secular) and the Bharatiya Janata Party have decided to field a common candidate for the December 4 byelection to the Chamundeshwari Assembly seat.

The JD (S) would be fielding a candidate and the BJP would support its coalition partner. So, it will be a direct contest between the former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of the Congress and the candidate of the JD (S).

It is now for the JD(S) to finalise its candidate. The candidate — either A.S. Guruswamy or Shivabasappa — is expected to be formally announced on Thursday. The last day for filing of nominations is Friday.

Sources in the two parties told The Hindu that a formal announcement was expected on Tuesday after the understanding was ratified by the coordination committee of the BJP and the JD (S), scheduled to take place the same day. Prior to the coordination committee meeting, Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa would hold a meeting with senior leaders of the State unit of the BJP. The electoral understanding reached between the two parties would be jointly announced by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and Mr. Yediyurappa.

It is said that the electoral alliance was possible due to the efforts of the Deve Gowda family. While Mr. Kumaraswamy spoke to the Deputy Chief Minister on Sunday and again on Monday, the former Prime Minister and president of JD (S), H.D. Deve Gowda spoke to the Deputy Chief Minister highlighting the need for an electoral understanding between the two parties.

Minister for Public Works and Energy H.D. Revanna is also understood to have impressed upon the Deputy Chief Minister on the need for an understanding.

Mr. Kumaraswamy, who was happy with the electoral pact, exuded confidence that it would pave the way for an increased understanding between the two parties at the political level. "We have been together from January at the governmental level and the understanding has worked well for both the parties. Of course, there have been some differences now and then and these were largely due to what could be described as communication gap. I am now confident that this Government will complete its full tenure and there could also be a firm understanding in future elections," he said. Mr. Deve Gowda, however, refused to react and said he would do so only after the official announcement of the understanding.

Mr. Yediyurappa, who played a key role in the two parties clinching the understanding, said that based on the discussions at the coordination committee meeting the campaign schedule would be finalised. Both the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister would jointly campaign and they would stay put in Mysore for at least a fortnight.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail