BENGALURU: JP Karnataka Election Management Committee Convener and Union Minister of State for Agriculture Shobha Karandlaje on Friday said BJP is seeking a positive mandate, and development is the only agenda. Excerpts.
You worked in UP elections. How is that experience helping you as the head of the Election Management Committee?
In UP, I was given the responsibility to work in 82 constituencies. Ensuring good law and order and providing food grains at the doorsteps of people were the major issues in UP. The focus here is on the “double engine” government’s work. People here feel Prime Minister Narendra Modi is doing good work and there is a need for the same party government here to give impetus to development. Former chief minister BS Yediyurappa feels we need to bring back the BJP government to strengthen Modi’s hands. The Modi-Yediyurappa combination adds special strength to bring the party to power again. This will also lay the foundation for the 2024 general elections.
Will there be any changes in the campaign strategy as elections are just around 30 days away?
There is a lot of demand for rallies by Modi, UP CM Yogi Adithyanath, and Amit Shah. We plan according to their availability and local requirements. There is a lot of demand for Yediyurappa to come and campaign in reserved constituencies. We are working out all the details.
What is your realistic assessment of the situation?
I am 100% sure that we are ahead of others. Congress is like a ship without a captain. Even they do not know when it will sink. Who is leading the party? Here, Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar are fighting. MB Patil says he is also a CM candidate. People are watching the developments. They also know what happened when there was a split verdict. People have full confidence in BJP and they will give a clear mandate.
What is BJP’s poll plank?
Development is our major poll plank. We are seeking a positive mandate. We are going to the polls with positive thinking. There is nothing new in the fight between (Congress leaders) Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar. We are focusing on our development agenda.
Do you think the government’s decision on reservation helps the party?
Yes, it will help 100 per cent. The reservation is also part of the development. Quotas for backward classes, economically weaker sections, Lingayats, Vokkaligas and SC/STs have been increased and they now feel confident that they will get justice in education and employment. We have also tried to solve the issue of internal reservations. We did not constitute the Justice AJ Sadashiva Commission.
They (Congress) did, and got the report, but failed to do justice to it. Also, we cannot accept everything in the Sadashiva commission report. We have ensured justice for communities based on their population. The reservation for Muslims was based on religion and was done for vote bank politics. We have corrected that mistake by scrapping it (the 4 per cent reservation for Muslims under 2B) and giving it to Lingayats and Vokkaligas. This was done to ensure social justice.
How do you respond to corruption allegations against the government?
People do not trust them (Congress). The BJP government has taken action against those involved in corruption. Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar talk about corruption, but they defanged the Lokayukta by withdrawing its powers and setting up the Anti-Corruption Bureau. They were worried that their cases would come out. Congress has no moral right to talk about corruption. Action taken against (BJP MLA Madal) Veerupakshappa shows that we do not tolerate it.
If BJP returns to power with a full majority, will Shobha Karandlaje be the next CM?
No. I am happy to be part of the Modi government. There is no greater honour than that. I realised it after becoming a minister. Modi is not just a politician or a PM, he is a statesman. He never talks about how we face the 2024 elections and always thinks about how and where India should be when we celebrate the centenary year of Independence. I am fortunate to be part of his ministry.