4 min readBengaluruFeb 17, 2026 08:20 AM IST
First published on: Feb 17, 2026 at 08:20 AM IST
While the next Assembly elections in Karnataka, ruled by the Congress, are slated for 2028, fissures seem to have surfaced in the relations between allies BJP and JD(S) over the Opposition alliance’s chief ministerial face, with state BJP chief B Y Vijayendra seeking a meeting with Union minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy over the issue.
The development comes amid the buzz of discontent among the BJP and JD(S) cadre over continuing the alliance – which was formed ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls – for the upcoming civic body elections including the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) polls.
Sources said the JD(S) is looking to contest the GBA polls alone if the BJP does not accept its demand of 80 seats. The GBA has 369 wards. JD(S) leaders from Bengaluru are said to have placed their demand with the party leadership during a Kumaraswamy-chaired preparatory meeting. No final decision on the alliance has been taken in this regard.
Sources in the JD(S) say Kumaraswamy is likely to return to state politics “nine to 10 months” before the Assembly polls, scheduled for April-May 2028, to lead the party’s campaign.
Recent calls by JD(S) leaders that Kumaraswamy should be the next CM of Karnataka had not gone down well with the BJP. Kumaraswamy himself fuelled it last month at a rally in Hassan, saying that “many JD(S) leaders want me to become CM in 2028”. His remarks evoked varied responses from the BJP with Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Legislative Council N Chalawady Narayanaswamy saying Kumaraswamy could become CM if the JD(S) won 113 of the state’s 224 Assembly seats.
On his part, Vijayendra said he had spoken to BJP leaders who had made statements on the row. “They told me that it was the JD(S) which raked up the issue. I told them not to respond. If any JD(S) leader makes a statement, we will talk to Kumaraswamy about it. Our main aim is to get rid of the corrupt Congress government in the state,” he said Monday.
Vijayendra said BJP workers wanted the party to win more Assembly, Zilla Parishad and Taluka Panchayat seats across the state including regions like Hassan, Mandya and old Mysore, which are seen as the JD(S) strongholds. The BJP had tied up with the JD(S) in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls with an aim to edge out the Congress in such JD(S) bastions.
Citing the recent local body results from Srirangapatna and Mandya districts to argue that the BJP had already made inroads into the old Mysore region, Vijayendra said, “I will discuss all these issues with Kumaraswamy personally.”
On Saturday, Kumaraswamy sought to put the row to rest, saying: “There is a lot of time for alliance partners to decide on the issue. My agenda now is to remove the corrupt Congress government and install one that is concerned with the welfare of the people.”
Kumaraswamy’s return
According to a JD(S) leader, the Union minister’s return to Karnataka politics was agreed upon during the alliance formation talks between the two parties in 2024.
“He (Kumaraswamy) will take over the election campaign of the party nine to 10 months ahead of Assembly polls. It is certain that he will be the JD(S)’s face,” the party leader told The Indian Express on condition of anonymity, adding there was no clarity if Kumaraswamy would give up his ministerial berth to do so.
With the attempt to project Kumaraswamy’s son, Nikhil, as the party’s face yet to yield dividends, JD(S) insiders said many leaders wanted Kumaraswamy back. “The minister (Kumaraswamy) too has said he will return when the time is right,” a party source said.