BJP ever ready, will get absolute majority, says CM after announcement of poll dates

BENGALURU: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday exuded confidence in winning the Assembly polls, slated to take place on May 10, and said that the BJP is an “ever-ready party” which is prepared for the elections.

The Election Commission of India announced the schedule for the Karnataka Assembly polls on Wednesday. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said that polling will take place on May 10 and the counting of votes will be done on May 13.

Speaking to the reporters after the announcement of dates, Bommai said that the party will return to power on the basis of the work it has done for the public. “The ECI has declared the election dates. Polls will take place on May 10 and results will be announced on May 13. The BJP is an ever-ready party with strong organisation and we are prepared for the polls. We have done a lot of Abhiyan (campaigns) where the response of the people was tremendous. The double-engine government has done a good job in terms of infrastructure and others. People, cutting across all sections, have shown a great deal of support. I am sure that on May 13, BJP will get an absolute majority”, he said.

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said that the BJP is ready for the elections. “D K Shivakumar (Karnataka Congress president) is following big Congress leaders when it comes to corruption. The BJP is ready for Karnataka elections and will form a government with absolute majority once again in the state”, he said.

Opposition leader Siddaramaiah speaking to the media in Mysuru on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Congress also exuded confidence that the party will win the polls. “We had expected that the election will be announced on Tuesday or Wednesday. I welcome the single phase election and it will make no difference for the Congress. On April 5, Rahul Gandhi will be visiting Kolar and he had earlier come to Belagavi. I have toured 60 constituencies while D K Shivakumar has also visited 50-60 constituencies and we have conducted various programmes. The Election Commissioner should conduct free and fair elections”, Opposition leader Siddaramaiah said in Mysuru.

Chittapur MLA Priyank Kharge said that party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi want the party to secure 150 seats from the state. “We are winning this election. The people of Karnataka are fed up with the 40 per cent commission government. The BJP is playing the caste politics, and unemployment is at its highest. This time, it is going to be Congress all the way. Kharge ji and Rahul ji want 150 seats delivered from Karnataka. The chief minister will be decided by the party high command later”, he said.

Congress leader and party leader in the Legislative Council, B K Hariprasad, hit out at the BJP and dubbed it as the “mother of corruption” in the country. “We’re ahead of the BJP in the state as we started our election campaign exercise three years ago after D K Shivakumar took over as the party’s state president. The exercise to select candidates has been under way for the past 6 months. The party’s screening committee will finalise everything soon”, he said.

“The BJP is the mother of corruption in the country. It does not believe in development programmes, but in the purchasing of MLAs”, Hariprasad added. (ANI)