A day after the Election Commission of India announced the Karnataka Election poll schedule, senior BJP leader and former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa claimed that the saffron party will get an absolute majority in the assembly elections. Brushing aside the speculations of him contesting the polls, Yediyurappa said that he won't contest the election but will work to ensure that BJP emerges victorious.
"I've decided not to contest the Assembly election. I resigned from the chief minister's post as I've already crossed 80 years of age. Even if I've crossed 80 years, I'll go around in state not only this time but next time as well. We'll see BJP get majority not only this time but also next time," said Yediyurappa.
The former chief minister said that the BJP will retain power under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "We're going to get absolute majority in Karnataka. Under PM Modi's leadership, we'll come back to power. Congress are corrupt and that's why they're making false allegations of 40% commission. These things will be kept away by voters in the polls," said Yediyurappa.
The Congress is keen to wrest power to give the party much-needed elbow room to help position itself as the main opposition player in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. It has made corruption a central theme of its campaign, pointing to various "scams" and 40 per cent commission charge by a contractors' body. The BJP has sought to counter this narrative by highlighting alleged graft during previous Congress regimes both at the Centre and the State.
The Congress also faces the challenge of keeping at bay intense factionalism, especially between the camps of its two CM aspirants Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar -- who are often seen to be engaging in political one-upmanship for some time now. Both the leaders exuded confidence that the Congress will form the government.
As the political temperature in Karnataka hots up on a range of issues, the BJP hopes to buck a nearly four-decade-old trend to retain power and script history while the Congress will seek to upstage its saffron rival to up its stakes as a key challenger. No political party has won a successive mandate in the state since 1985 and the BJP is eager to rewrite this bit of history and retain its southern citadel.
Earlier yesterday, the ECI announced that assembly polls in Karnataka will be held in a single phase on May 10. Announcing the poll schedule at a news conference in Delhi, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said votes will be counted on May 13. Kumar said elections for the 224-member Assembly have been scheduled on a Wednesday, and not on a Monday or Friday, to encourage greater participation of voters.
Like in the last two decades, the polls will mainly be a three-cornered contest involving the BJP, Congress and JD(S). (With agency inputs)
