BENGALURU: Even before Karnataka goes to polls, BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa is confident of being sworn in as the next Chief Minister. In an interaction with the media on Sunday, Yeddyurappa claimed that Congress itself will ensure Siddaramaiah’s defeat in Badami as well as Chamundeshwari constituencies. While the Congress is having a field day mocking the BJP for handing tickets to associates of illegal mining scam accused Janardhana Reddy, Yeddyurappa defended the party’s decision by deeming it a “winnability factor”. Yeddyurappa claimed that the past had to be forgotten and forgiven as the Reddy clan had the people’s support.
“We will accommodate Muslims in our cabinet,” Yeddyurappa told reporters when asked about the BJP not giving tickets to even a single Muslim candidate. The state BJP chief added that tickets were given on winnability assessment and no Muslim candidate featured in the list.
Rubbishing speculations of candidate selection creating a rift between the state and central leadership of BJP, Yeddyurappa claimed that the names he proposed and the names that were cleared with Amit Shah’s survey, matched 95%. “Denying ticket to Vijayendra was the party’s decision. Senior leaders felt that the CM candidate and his son should not contest together,” he said.
The Lingayat strongman, highlighting that Mallikarjun Kharge and Parameshwara refused to be seen together in public, alleged that the rift was wide open in the Congress. Reiterating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s accusations against former Congress President Sonia Gandhi in the Mahadayi row, Yeddyurappa vowed to resolve the issue if his government came to power.
“The Congress divided the Lingayat community to ensure that I do not become the Chief Minister but I will take oath on May 17,” he vowed. While questions on Reddy brothers, he rejected any possibility of a coalition government with the JD(S) post poll. Despite surveys predicting a hung assembly, Yeddyurappa expressed confidence of winning 150 seats.