Preetham had opposed BJP's tie-up with the JDS and had contended that Prajwal would lose the election due to incumbency factor. Angry JDS leaders, led by their patriarch H D Devegowda have conveyed their displeasure to Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President J P Nadda while a meeting has been called to sort out the issue on Sunday.

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Two days ago, Preetham, along with a couple of BJP leaders, skipped the BJP-JDS coordination meeting while on the next day, he again chose to stay away when Radha Mohan Das Agarwal, BJP National General Secretary and in-charge of Karnataka affairs, chaired a meeting to ensure coordination between the two partners.

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After Deve Gowda’s  missive to Shah and Nadda, a few BJP leaders have been turning up to campaign for Prajwal. A senior JDS leader, speaking to this correspondent, demanded action against the sulking BJP functionaries.

"The alliance must be strong to defeat Congress in all the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state. If Preetham was not interested in the partnership, he should have conveyed it to the national leadership. What if we did the same in other constituencies where we are strong?” he asked.

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JDS members hoped Sunday's meeting between Prajwal and Preetham in Mysore would break the ice. If Preetham again fails to turn up, he might invite disciplinary action.

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Preetham had won the 2018 assembly election on a BJP ticket from Hassan City. However, he suffered defeat in the 2023 polls and had blamed Prajwal for the verdict.

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