‘Won’t ally with any party even if there is a hung assembly’

There is also a case against you for illegally granting mining licence to the Janthakal mining company...

The allegation is that I pressured local authorities to ensure licence was granted. But the Lokayukta has said that there was no loss But in the assembly elections the results in those seats were different.

You have said the JD(S) will contest all 224 seats. How many seats are you hoping to win?

I will be ahead of the two national parties. My aim is to get at least 113 seats, the simple majority mark. I have made a set of promises to the people of the state, and I will not be able to fulfil these in another coalition government. Mark my words, the incumbent Congress will be relegated to the third place.

There is rising communal tension in coastal Karnataka. How do you propose to tackle this?

Historically, it is true that our party has been weak in this region. For a long time now, the BJP and Congress have both planned to divide the area. They never speak about development there. Any communal incident in that area benefits both parties. They generate fear and this has helped them systematically.

Recent reports have hinted at an understanding between you and energy minister DK Shivakumar in the Mysuru region...

These are baseless rumours. There is no question of an alliance with the Congress because wherever we are strongest, our contest is with the Congress.

What will be your message to voters in this election?

This state has seen 10 years of misrule by the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) and the Congress. So the people of the state are willing to look at a third alternative. If not for anything, they can vote for us because it cannot get any worse than the Congress and BJP’S

misrule so far.