Cong desperate to win K’taka polls, says Shah
BENGALURU: The Congress wants to win the Karnataka assembly elections in an “undemocratic” manner and the “voter ID scandal” showed its desperation, BJP president Amit Shah alleged on Thursday.
Speaking after winding up the party's campaign for the May 12 polls, he sounded confident about the BJP forming a government on its own.
The BJP would win at least 130 seats in the 224-member assembly and there was no need to take any party's support, he claimed.
“The Congress wants to win elections in an undemocratic manner... The developments in the last three days have sent a shock wave across India among those who are concerned about strengthening democracy,” he said, referring to the seizure of “bogus” voter ID cards from a flat here.
Shah, who extensively campaigned in the state, was addressing a press conference here after leading a massive road show in Badami constit- uency from where Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is contesting besides Chamundeshwari seat in Mysuru.
“The way bogus voter cards were made in a flat... the way counterfoils of forms for inclusion of voters were found, the way colour printers and computers were found there, it tells us how desperately the Congress wants to win the election,” the BJP president said.
To a query, Shah said B S Yeddyurappa would serve full term as chief minister (in the event of BJP coming to power).
He also said mining baron Janardhana Reddy, an accused in illegal mining case, has nothing do with the BJP, adding, “what I have said is final.”
The BJP has come under attack from the Congress over fielding the Reddy brothers -G Somashekhara Reddy (Ballari) and G Karunakara Reddy (Harappanahalli) and their associates in the polls. NEW DELHI: The BJP on Thursday announced Hemant Patle and Rajendra Gavit as party candidates for the Gondia-bhandara and Palghar Lok Sabha by-polls in Maharashtra, respectively.
The bypolls are scheduled to be held on May 28.
Bye-election to GondiaBhandara Lok Sabha seat was necessitated following the resignation of MP Nana Patole and his subsequent quitting from the BJP.
Palghar MP Chintaman Wanga from the BJP had died in January this year.
The contest in Palghar is expected to be an interesting one as the Shiv Sena has chosen Wanga's son Srinivas to be the party candidate for the by-poll. The Congress, on the other hand, has fielded Damu Shingda from the seat, while the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi, a local party dominant in the belt, has fielded Baliram Jadhav.
Today is the last date of filing of nominations for the bypoll. Counting of votes will take place on May 31.