Karnataka polls: BJP in talks with JD(U)

New Delhi, Apr 11 (UNI) Concerned over the rough weather the NDA parties are facing in the Karnataka Assembly polls, the BJP today initiated talks with the Janata Dal (United) to iron out the differences between the two alliance partners.

BJP Vice-President Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, deputed to hold talks with its alliance partner, met JD (U) President Sharad Yadav to discuss the issue after Mr Yadav took the BJP to task for dumping the JD(U) in Karnataka with whom the BJP has had poll understanding since 2004 assembly polls.

While party leaders confirmed the meeting, they refused to divulge the contents of the talks. The BJP regards its alliance with the JD(U) in Bihar as ''important'' because it runs a coalition government in the state.

The JD (U) is alleging that the BJP had already taken away nearly dozen of its seats in the first list while the BJP is maintaining that it had not touched the constituencies where the former had stakes.

BJP General Secretary Arun Jaitley refused to comment on media reports and said the party was in touch with the JD(U) leaders both at the Central and state levels.

In the meeting, the JD (U) is understood to have conveyed to the BJP that it would prefer to have no alliance rather than get humiliated in the state.

The BJP says that the JD (U) too had announced its list in Bihar without consulting it and ''it did not mind it and the alliance is working well.'' The BJP has announced its first list of 136 of the 224 constituencies yesterday while stating that the state leaders will talk over the alliance with Karnataka JD (U) leaders Somashekhar and Dr M P Nadagouda.

UNI MCN KD AS1959