BENGALURU: Dismissing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s claim that the BJP was offering Rs 50 crore each to ruling Congress MLAs to switch sides ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Leader of Opposition R. Ashoka on Saturday said his party has made no such approaches to the rival camp.
Speaking to ANI on Saturday, the LoP said, “The Congress are staring at defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, which is why he (Siddaramaiah) is trying to deflect public attention by making such unfounded claims. He has dreamed up this ‘Operation Kamala’ to hoodwink the people. We don’t have any intention to destablise this government. In fact, they are driving their own government to the point of ruin. We have not made any offer to any Congress MLA. There are no such operations from our end.”
Meanwhile, the BJP’s state chief BY Vijayendra on Saturday inaugurated and opened a dedicated media centre of the party as a part of the Lok Sabha election preparation.
“‘Once again Modi’ are not only the words of BJP workers. People of India want Modi as PM. His popularity is rising by the day. People across the length and breadth of the country believe in Modi. His vision is the development of India. Karnataka is South India’s gateway to the BJP,” Vijayendra said.
The BJP chief said Congress does not have candidates in Karnataka for the Lok Sabha election as JDS is also with his party.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress and JDS fought together but were still decimated by the BJP. The BJP had won a record 25 seats while the Congress and JD-S had won just one seat each.
Yesterday BJP leader and former Chief Minister of Karnataka, Basavaraj Bommai, said that the party aims to make Narendra Modi the Prime Minister again.
Addressing party members in Karnataka’s Hubballi on Friday, Bommai said, “We are on the battlefield and we must see only the target and not who is on the left or right side. We aim to make Modi PM again and to achieve that, we must vote for Pralhad Joshi, who is the BJP candidate from Dharwad constituency.”
#WATCH | On Mekedatu project, Karnataka LoP and BJP leader R. Ashoka says, "Our decision is that for the Bengaluru people's drinking water, the Mekedatu project has to be completed. That is BJP's demand. But Congress people and INDI partners, in their manifesto are mentioning… pic.twitter.com/OgnKQ73wpP
— ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2024
Bommai was campaigning for Joshi, who is contesting from the Dharwad constituency for BJP in Hubballi.
“I have told this umpteen times; that’s why I am contesting. Modi must become the PM to provide shelter for all. Joshi has worked efficiently as the minister and brought a good name for all. He has done what no other MP has done in the past,” Bommai said.
Bommai also hinted that there would be two MPs for the Shiggaon
He urged the party members to work towards achieving at least one hundred more votes from each village than in the previous Assembly election.
“There was a lot of difference between the Assembly and the Lok Sabha polls. You must work for the candidate. My prestige will increase if Joshi gets the lead here. He should win the election by a margin of five lakh votes,” he said.
Union Minister and senior BJP leader Pralhad Joshi has been picked by the party to contest from the Dharwad Lok Sabha constituency for a fifth straight term.
The Dharwad Constituency has been a BJP stronghold since 1996. The four-time MP contested his first Lok Sabha election in 2004, winning the Dharwad constituency by defeating BS Patil of the Congress by 83,078 votes.
In 2009, he won his second term by defeating Kannur Manjunath Channappa of Congress with 1,37,663 votes. In the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls he also retained the seat.
The Lok Sabha Elections 2024 will be held in seven phases starting on April 19. Karnataka will vote in two phases on April 26 and May 7. Counting of votes is on June 4. (ANI)