MYSURU: In the runup to the Lok Sabha elections and the political clamour, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) may not get an absolute majority in the ensuing polls.
The CM further claimed that the opposition alliance and other parties that are against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were getting the majority. “According to me, the NDA will not get a full absolute majority this time. INDIA (the opposition alliance) and other parties that are against the BJP are getting the majority”, Siddaramaiah said.
“The INDI alliance will win. The INDI alliance and other parties that are opposing the BJP will form the government. Yes, they (Naveen Patnaik and Mamata Banerjee) are also opposing the BJP”, he added.
Asked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP’s goal of crossing the 400-seat mark in the Lok Sabha polls, Siddaramaiah said, “It’s only a strategy because they can’t get simple majority in parliament. This is all being said to divert the minds of the people”.
The Chief Minister also spoke on the arrest of two accused in the Bengaluru cafe blast case and said, “I thank the NIA and also the Karnataka police. They arrested the accused in Kolkata and now they have been brought to Bengaluru. Let the investigation be complete”.
The National Investigation Agency on Friday got the three-day transit remand of the two prime suspects allegedly involved in Bengaluru’s The Rameshwaram Cafe IED blast incident. The two prime suspects, Adbul Matheen Taha and Mussavir Hussain Shazeb, were produced before an NIA court in Kolkata on Friday.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to take out a roadshow at Mangaluru in South Karnataka on Sunday, April 14. Preparations are in full swing for the event. Despite the Congress holding the reins in Karnataka, the BJP has set itself the target of winning all the Lok Sabha seats in the southern state.
Karnataka will have elections in two phases on April 26 and May 7 for 28 constituencies. Karnataka has 28 Lok Sabha constituencies, including five seats reserved for SC candidates and two for ST candidates.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 25 seats with a vote share of 51.7 per cent, while the Congress won 1 seat with a 32.1 per cent vote share, and JD(S) and Independent won one seat each in Karnataka.
The general election for 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held in seven phases starting April 19, with counting to be held on June 4. (ANI)