BengaluruOpposition BJP-JDS on Friday agreed to constitute a committee to streamline coordination within the NDA alliance ahead of local body elections and the 2028 Karnataka assembly polls.The decision followed a meeting between BJP state president B Y Vijayendra and Union minister and JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy in Bengaluru. The duo reviewed the political situation in the state, discussed the Hiriyur and Dharwad assembly bypolls, elections to four teachers’ and graduates’ legislative council constituencies, and the alliance’s strategy against the Congress govt.The coordination committee will comprise Vijayendra, leader of opposition R Ashoka and Union minister Pralhad Joshi from the BJP, while Kumaraswamy will represent the JD(S). The JD(S) will nominate one more member. Vijayendra said the proposal, also discussed with BJP Karnataka in charge Radha Mohan Das Agrawal, had Kumaraswamy’s approval.“The coordination committee is needed and we will form it soon,” Kumaraswamy said.The meeting, however, ended without a decision on the Hiriyur and Dharwad bypoll. Sources said Kumaraswamy conveyed that the JD(S) wanted to contest the seat, while Vijayendra argued that the BJP had a stronger claim after winning the constituency in the 2018 assembly election. The two agreed to hold further discussions before the alliance finalises its candidate.Vijayendra said BJP had won the constituency earlier and both the Hiriyur and Dharwad bypolls will be contested in coordination, while the party high command will take the final call on candidates.”On the inordinate delay in local bodies polls, Vijayendra said, “The Congress govt has no intention of conducting elections to the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), zilla panchayats and other local bodies, and is instead looking for reasons to postpone them further as they fear a defeat.”
