Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy on Saturday said that BS Yediyurappa’s remarks about a purported understanding on seat sharing between the Bharatiya Janata Party and his party for the 2024 Lok Sabha election were his personal remarks, reported ANI.

“Until now, there has been no discussion on seat sharing or anything,” Kumaraswamy said. “We [BJP and JD(S)] have met cordially two or three times. Later on, let us see what is going to happen... We are coming together and having a discussion to go before the people.”

Yediyurappa on Friday had claimed that the BJP and JD(S) have arrived at an understanding on four seats. The former Karnataka chief minister had said he was happy that JD(S) chief and former Prime Minister Deve Gowda had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and finalised an agreement on four seats.

On Saturday, Kumaraswamy claimed that people needed to come together as the Congress was “looting” the state.

“People need alternatives,” he told ANI. “...I [had] joined hands with the BJP in 2006. My goodwill was created because of my 20 months of administration.”

The JD(S) had entered into an alliance with the Congress after voting took place for the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections. The BJP had emerged as the single-largest party in the polls, but HD Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) took oath as the chief minister with the support of the Congress.

However, the government collapsed in July 2019 after several MLAs from the two parties switched over to the BJP. Eventually, the coalition lost the trust vote in the state Assembly, following which the BJP formed the government with Yediyurappa as the chief minister.

However, in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the BJP had won 25 out of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka. The Congress and JD(S), who were in an alliance at the time, had won one seat each. Independent candidate Sumalatha had won the Mandya constituency.