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Mayawati's BSP joins hands with JD(S) to contest Karnataka polls

The two parties will kick off a joint campaign with a rally in Bengaluru on Feb 17; will be addressed by both Mayawati and Deve Gowda

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In a decision that could cause discomfort to Congress in poll-bound Karnataka, for the first time in 21 years, Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party on Friday has decided to opt for a pre-poll alliance in Karnataka with the HD Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular).

According to the alliance announcement by BSP's Satish Chandra Mishra and JDS' Danish Ali in the national capital on Thursday, the BSP will contest 20 of the 224 assembly seats in Karnataka.

Ironically, the alliance was finalised on February 1 — the same day that Sonia Gandhi chaired a meeting of 17 non-NDA parties on Opposition unity and was skipped by both BSP and JDS.

Mishra and Ali said that the two parties will kick off a joint campaign with a rally in Bengaluru on February 17, which will be addressed by both Mayawati and Deve Gowda. "HD Kumaraswamy is the chief ministerial face of the alliance and we are confident that we will come to power," said Ali. After 1996, this is the first time that BSP has entered into a pre-poll alliance.

The alliance could be a pain point for the Congress, as it could lead to splintering of the votebank and clearing the way for the BJP like it did in Gujarat. Both Ali and Mishra, however, vehemently dismissed such charges. "We will form the government. You undermine us. This alliance is to win polls, not help anyone or ditch anyone," said Ali.

TAKING OFF

The two parties will kick off a joint campaign with a rally in Bengaluru on Feb 17; will be addressed by both Mayawati and Deve Gowda

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