Karnataka portfolios: JD(S) likely to get Finance, Congress Home department

After holding five rounds of talks in New Delhi since Wednesday, the two alliance partners are giving finishing touches to the power-sharing arrangement. A formal announcement, however, is yet to be made in this regard.

Congress general secretary in-charge of Karnataka K C Venugopal and JD(S) secretary general Danish Ali will travel to Bengaluru hold further talks with their state leaders before finalizing the arrangement.

“We have held five rounds of talks with each other and have decided that the JD(S) will get the Finance portfolio. I will be now travelling to Bengaluru to hold further talks within our party,” Danish Ali told PTI.

He said he would meet both Chief Minister H D Kumarswamy and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda.

Leaders of the two parties, including Ali as well as the Congress’ Ahmed Patel, Ashok Gehlot and Venugopal, met at the residence of senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad for talks.

The sharing of key portfolios in the Karnataka government has been a bone of contention between the two alliance partners since Kumaraswamy took over as chief minister on May 23, delaying government formation in the state.

with PTI inputs