Congress, Janata Dal Secular agree on seat-sharing deal in Karnataka

After days of wrangling over seat-sharing between Congress and its ruling partner in Karnataka, Janata Dal Secular (JDS), the parties on Wednesday formally announced the 20-8 seat-sharing deal for the state's 28 Lok Sabha seats.

The JDS had its pick and got the prize seats of Tumkur, Hasan, Mandya and Bengaluru North. The party will also contest from Shivamogga, which the Congress had ceded to JDS in the recently bypolls.

Currently, Tumakuru seat is represented by Congress leader SP Muddahanume Gowda, while JDS represents Hassan and Mandya.

The regional party had initially demanded 12 seats and was not willing to settle for anything less than that.

The announcement came hours after JDS patriarch HD Deve Gowda said that “It is not yet decided as to how many seats will be divided between the JD(S) and the Congress. Rahul Gandhi will take a call on the 15th”.