JD(S) likely to contest eight seats in Karnataka

The seat-sharing deal between the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) is likely to be finalised in a day or two with the JD(S) likely to scale down from its earlier demand of 12 seats to 8 seats.

The JD(S) is likely to get Hassan, Mandya, Shimoga, Bijapur, Uttara Kannada, Mysore, Bangalore North and Tumkur seats. Even if the Congress refuses to spare Mysore, the JD(S) is ready to settle for the remaining seven seats, sources said.

Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda is likely to contest from one of the constituencies among Mysore, Tumkur or Bangalore North.

Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, will contest from Mandya, while Prajwal Revanna, son of PWD Minister H D Revanna, will take a plunge into the electoral battle from Hassan.

"Seat-sharing between the Congress and the JD(S) will be finalised in a couple of days. How much seats each party is getting is not an issue. How much seats both the parties will win should be an issue,” the chief minister told reporters here.