The Bharatiya Janata Party said Thursday that it would seek the support of the Janata Dal (Secular) of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda to form the next government in Karnataka, where no party or alliance has a clear mandate. Before the election, the JD(S) had stressed that it would not team up with the BJP.

D H Shankaramurthy, leader of the opposition in the state legislative council, told reporters that while the BJP planned to team up with the JD(S), party leaders had yet not discussed the issue. He also said the BJP, the largest single party in the state, was yet to decide on whether it would stake its claim to form the government.

BJP leaders, including Arun Jaitley who is slated to reach Bangalore soon, would discuss the matter Thursday or Friday and chalk out a strategy before taking any steps, he said.

Asked if the BJP would support a JD(S) government, Shankaramurthy said a coalition government worked well when the party with fewer seats supported the one with more of them.

Shankaramurthy said he did not visualise the JD(S) joining hands with the Congress simply because both parties relied on the same voter base.

Asked about the JD(S)'s assertion before the election that it would not join forces with the BJP, Shankaramurthy said that while there was nothing wrong in a political party taking a stand, it had to respond to ground realities after the elections.