Yediyurappa is tallest Lingayat leader, BJP will win K’taka polls with huge majority: Amit Shah

Yadgir (Karnataka) [India], April 25 (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday exuded confidence of Bharatiya Janata Party winning the upcoming Karnataka assembly elections with a huge majority and said the party's government in the state had taken several welfare measures which Congress was unable to provide to people.
Speaking with ANI, Amit Shah also hit out at Congress leader Siddaramaiah over his allegations of step-motherly treatment to Karnataka by the BJP and said people of the state do not believe him.
Amit Shah, who held a roadshow here, also said that Yediyurappa "is the tallest Lingayat leader" and will hold 110 public meetings in the poll-bound state.
"We have governments in 16 states. Let Siddaramaiah say whatever he wants, the people of Karnataka do not believe it. Our government has performed well. We took schemes for welfare of poor to every house. We have provided people with houses, electricity, water, gas, toilets, Covid vaccine and free ration," Shah said.
"These things were not there under Congress's rule. People of Karnataka know this very well, and we are going to win with a huge majority," he added.
Asked if he perceived any area as "weak" for BJP, Shah said he had toured all "weak areas" and there was a similar enthusiastic response from people as during his roadshow in Yadgir.
"We are going to win by a huge margin," he said.
Responding to a question about Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's remarks, Shah quipped "why do you Priyankaji so seriously?"
"It is always good if people get wisdom," he said, answering another query.
Priyanka Gandhi on Tuesday responded to PM Modi's jibe at Congress over slogans raised during a protest and said every citizen of the country would like the Prime Minister to be in good health.
"The Prime Minister came here and said that the leaders of the opposition want to dig his grave. What kind of talk is this? Every citizen of the country would like the health of the Prime Minister to be good. The people of Karnataka should not vote on the words of any leader but of their conscience," she said.
Prime Minister had earlier taken a dig at Congress over 'Modi teri kabar khudegi' slogan allegedly raised during a protest at the airport after the party leader Pawan Khera was stopped from boarding a flight to Chhattisgarh's Raipur at Delhi in February this year.
Shah also took a dig at the Congress government in the state over "religion-based reservation".
"Giving Reservation on the basis of religion is unconstitutional. This cannot happen," he said.
Answering a query, Shah said former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa is the "tallest Lingayat leader" and will hold 110 public rallies in the state.
Some prominent Lingayat leaders including former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and former Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi have joined the Congress after leaving BJP.
Earlier in the day, Shah took a jibe at Congress and said it had a "reverse-gear" government.
"On one hand there is PM Modi and CM Basavaraj Bommai's 'double-engine' government and on the other hand, there's Congress' 'reverse gear' govt. They (Congress) drive in reverse gear. Whatever, development the BJP government does, Congress with its 'reverse gear' brings the situation back to square one, wherever BJP Govt works," Shah said, addressing a public rally in Devara Hippargi, Vijayapura,
He also hit out at Congress during a rally in Bagalkote and said the party had "insulted" Chief Ministers from the Lingayat community.
"Recently, 1-2 leaders left our party. Congress thinks that this will benefit them a lot. I want to tell Congress that this won't be benefitting them at all. Congress has always insulted the Lingayat community. Congress made only two Lingayat Chief Ministers, S Nijalingappa and Veerendra Patil, and both of them were insulted and thrown out of the party. It clearly shows that there is bankruptcy in your party (Congress) when you fight elections depending on leaders who have joined Congress leaving the BJP," he said.
In the 2018 Assembly elections, BJP won 104 seats and emerged as the single largest party, while the Congress and JD(S) bagged 78 and 37 seats respectively.
Karnataka will go to polls on May 10 and the votes will be counted on May 13. (ANI)