Shah, Rahul raise pitch on last day of campaign
KARNATAKA POLLS 19 Union ministers blitz state; Cong chief says battle is with RSS
BENGALURU: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah, two of the party’s chief ministers, 19 Union ministers, and 12 other senior leaders of the party descended on Karnataka on Thursday, holding 53 road shows on the last day of campaigning for assembly polls in the state.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi made a pointed reference to this in a press conference on Thursday: “This is a fight between the spirit of Karnataka and the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) and we are very clear we don’t want a barrage of leaders from outside the state to come and fight for us.”
The Congress, in power in the state, and the BJP have been locked in an intense and bitter campaign.
The former has used “outsiders” in its campaign, including Gandhi, even his mother Sonia Gandhi, who campaigned after a hiatus of two years, but it has largely depended on incumbent chief minister Siddaramaiah.
The BJP, in contrast, has pulled out all the stops, using its star campaigner, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, and several cabinet ministers. Its local face, former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa, whose temporary departure from the party was one reason for its loss in 2013, has been around, but just not as visible.
Prime Minister Modi, who held 21 rallies in the state between May 1 and May 9 — he was originally supposed to hold 15 — was not on the campaign trail on Thursday, but he was very much around, addressing Dalit workers of BJP in Karnataka through his NaMo app. Gandhi has held 17 rallies in 10 days, and on May 8, in the course of an interaction in Bengaluru, said he was open to being the country’s Prime Minister in 2019 if the party had the mandate to choose the PM.
BENGALURU: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah said on Thursday that he was confident his party would win 130 out of Karnataka’s 224 assembly seats in the May 12 polls, bringing down the curtains on his party’s election campaign in the state.
Responding to a question on whether the party would join hands with anybody else if there was no clear mandate, Shah said, “We will win at least 130 seats so there is no question of a coalition with anyone.”
This, Shah said, was because of the groundswell of anger against the state government led by chief minister Siddaramaiah, which he said will ensure a BJP majority. “I have no hesitation in saying that this is the worst and most inept government in the history of this country,” Shah said.
“Thanks to the Siddaramaiah government, the development of the state has been stuck like the traffic of Bengaluru,” Shah said. “And this great city has been handed over to KJ George, NA Haris and R Roshan Baig,” he said. He was referring to Bengaluru development minister George, MLA Haris – whose son was arrested for assaulting a youth at a pub, and Baig, who is urban development minister.
Shah referred to the recovery of “bogus” voter ID cards saying, “It tells us how desperately the Congress wants to win the election.” I want to alert those whose fake IDs have been made, that don’t fall in Congress’ trap, he added.
When asked if the party’s chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa, who turned 75 in February, would be the chief minister for the entire term if the party was elected, Shah said he definitely will be.
“Yeddyurappa will be chief minister for the whole term. Last time, it fell because at the Centre there was a government that was pulling others down. This time we will stand behind the govern- ment like a rock,” Shah said.
The BJP president said, if anything, the chief minsiter’s decision to contest from an additional seat in Badami, apart from the Chamundeshwari seat, showed the fear in the Congress. “He has changed his constituency and his contesting in Badami. But if he thinks he will win there, I assure, he will lose by a larger margin in Badami than Chamundeshwari. I can say this because I held a road show there today,” he said.
Replying to a query whether party leader Sriramulu who is taking on the CM in Badami would be made deputy chief minister (in the event of party’s victory), Shah said after the election results, it would discuss the issue with an “open mind.”
Shah appealed to the people of Karnataka to vote for the BJP on May 12 to ensure that they benefit completely from the programmes of the government. “Give us another chance to serve you and to work for the state,” he said.
“The state election result is very vital for BJP to make inroads into the southern states,” he said.
Respondingtothecharges,KC Venugopal, Congress general secretary in-charge of the state, asked Shah to wait for May 15. “We will get a clear majority in the state come May 15. He has no moral right to question this government, considering how it has worked for the people,” he said.
Yeddyurappa will be chief minister for the whole term. Last time, it fell because at the Centre there was a government that was pulling others down. This time we will stand behind the government like a rock. AMIT SHAH, BJP president