Opinion: It's Catch-22 But This Is Why BJP, JDS Need Each Other In Karnataka

The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (Secular) have made their partnership official and the latter is set to join the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance ahead of next year's Lok Sabha election.

Details about seat-sharing are still unclear at this time. Senior BJP leader BS Yediyurappa had claimed the smaller party will contest four seats but that was denied by JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy. He told NDTV "details will be revealed after (next week's) Ganesh Chaturthi".

In the 2019 Lok Sabha election BJP won 25 seats. The JDS - then with the Congress - got one. Now, after a resounding defeat in the 2023 Assembly election - the BJP won 66 seats, less than half the Congress' 135, and the JDS its second-worst tally of 19 - the two defeated parties have joined hands.