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BJP, Janata Dal-United begin seat-sharing talks
The JD-U has sought 25 seats it contested in the last assembly elections as a junior NDA coalition partner. The BJP, on the other contrary, is at best willing to make a token gesture.
- IANS
- Published: 00:08 April 14, 2008
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal-United (JD-U), both constituents of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), have started talks on seat sharing for the assembly polls in Karnataka but with little hope of any alliance in the state.
The JD-U has sought 25 seats it contested in the last assembly elections as a junior NDA coalition partner. The BJP, on the other contrary, is at best willing to make a token gesture.
"All the JD-U leaders are with us, what is left in the JD-U?" said a BJP leader.
JD-U sources said here yesterday that party president Sharad Yadav dispatched general secretary Shambhu Srivastava to Bangalore on Saturday to open negotiations with the BJP.
Srivastava, accompanied by state JD-U president B. Somashekhar, met BJP's general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Arun Jaitley, general secretary Ananth Kumar, BJP state president D.V. Sadanand Gauda and others on Saturday night.
Still trying
Though the two sides were circumspect in their comments, there were clear indications that the talks have made "no substantial improvement" in the current standoff between the BJP and JD-U in Karnataka.
"We have been trying our best, a lot depends on them," the JD-U general secretary said.
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