BENGALURU: Janata Dal (Secular) state youth wing president Nikhil Kumaraswamy on Friday predicted that the NDA will win not less than 150 of the 224 seats in the 2028 Karnataka Assembly elections.
JDS has been a part of the BJP-led NDA since 2023.
Nikhil said that both the JDS and BJP are working together to meet the goal of winning 150 seats.
Speaking at a media interaction organised by the Press Club of Bengaluru, Nikhil hit back at Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar for saying that it’s better JDS merges with BJP. “The JDS won 19 seats in the last Assembly elections in Karnataka. How many seats did the Congress win in Bihar, Maharashtra, and Delhi? First, remove the board that says ‘national Party’,” he quipped.
Nikhil asserted that he will certainly contest the next Assembly polls as he took a plunge into politics to enter the Assembly.
He claimed that the JDS has a 37% vote share in the Old Mysuru region and has a strong base in Kalyana Karnataka as well. “The statistics tell us what percent of the votes we have got. Our party also has its presence in Kittur Karnataka and the coastal districts,” he said.
“Some individuals in the Congress may question JDS’ strength. But the people of the state have shown our strength in the last four Assembly elections, as 55 lakh people have supported us,” he said.
He said discussions are underway on contesting the local body polls independently to strengthen party workers at the grassroots. “All parties must have their individual and own strength. There is a difference between national and local politics. The final decision on alliance will be taken by national leaders,” he said.
On whether senior JDS leader and MLA GT Devegowda will be invited to the party’s Hassan convention, Nikhil said the party’s senior leadership would take a call in this regard.