The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (United) have reached a no-poaching pact ahead of the polls in Karnataka.

According to party sources, the pact will be applicable nationwide and not restricted to Karnataka alone.

Senior leaders of the BJP and JD(U) met in New Delhi recently and entered a pact.

Among the leaders present at the meeting were BJP leader L K Advani and JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav.

It is learnt that the JD(U) was upset with the induction of senior leader Basavaraj Bommai in Karnataka and Gopal Pacherwal in Rajasthan.

The JD(U) expressed its displeasure of these two inductions and even threatened that it would not be part of the National Democratic Alliance led by the BJP in the future.

The JD(U) leaders told the BJP that the saffron party should have at least intimated them before inducting their members into the party.

The BJP, which was relatively upset with the remarks by the JD(U), has decided to go one step ahead and please the party. While ensuring that there would be no further poaching, the BJP has also agreed to enter to a pre-poll agreement with the JD(U) in the elections.

The BJP has offered to give 25 Karnataka Assembly seats and five Lok Sabha seats to the JD(U). Regarding the seat-sharing, a decision is awaited and the decision would be taken next week.