How do you see the response on the ground now that there are just a few more days left for voting day?
There has been a tremendous response across the state and at every function or rally, be it Yediyurappa ji or Bommai or Modiji’s or Amit Bhai’s, the people have made up their minds that they want to give a clear mandate to the BJP. I am also convinced that the BJP will come back to power with an absolute majority.
It’s a tight contest in Karnataka and most of the surveys are showing that the BJP seems to be away from the halfway mark. How do you see it?
Most of the surveys until a week ago gave an edge to the Congress party, but the same surveys are now predicting a simple majority for the BJP. That means in one week, especially after the Prime Minister’s rallies across the state, there has been a tremendous response in favour of the BJP. In what we see as the trend in the last couple of weeks, the BJP will come to power with an absolute majority and there is no question of a hung assembly or the Congress party coming back to power. The people of Karnataka will bless the BJP again.
PM Modi is on a massive outreach programme where he is touring across, and the one in Bengaluru spans close to 40 km in the city. How many seats will this impact and what is the number of seats the BJP is hoping to gain?
There is no iota of doubt that with the PM moving across the state and the way people are responding to his rallies that the people will bless the BJP. The people of Karnataka are fed up with a hung assembly and they have seen that at the end, the state and the people are paying for it, as development is affected due to the confusion that arose when there was a coalition government (Congress-JDS) in Karnataka. People are pretty clear that they don’t want the Congress or a hung assembly. Each day the PM is covering more than three to four districts and that is why I am telling you the trend is in the favour of the BJP in the past few weeks.
You are contesting from Shikaripura. How easy or difficult is it going to be for you to step into your father’s shoes?
Let me tell you one thing, nobody can replace Yediyurappa ji. He is a legend. When it comes to Shikaripura, I am blessed to be able to contest from the constituency that was represented by my father in the last four decades. I never expected I was going to contest from Shikaripura and am thankful to the party high command for giving me an opportunity.
So was Varuna your choice?
Of course, I have fans in Varuna as well. But I am thankful to the high command for allowing me to contest from Shikaripura and I have covered every village at least three times and have visited every booth in my constituency. All the karyakartas are upbeat and they want to ensure that the BJP wins by a huge margin.
There is a feeling in the North Karnataka region that the Lingayats are moving away from the BJP and the reservation that was given was a mere poll promise, nothing was done in three years.
If at all the Lingayat community has any faith in any political party, it is the BJP. People have not forgotten how Congress dealt with the Veerashaiva community when they unceremoniously removed Veerendra Patil. The way he was humiliated a few decades ago and the way the Siddaramaiah government, when they were desperate to come back to power, stooped to the level of dividing the Veerashaiva and the Lingayat community…In Karnataka, people don’t accept this kind of politics. The Congress stooped to the level of dividing the Veerashaiva community. Having said that, not only the Lingayats, even the SC and ST are with the BJP. The way CM Bommai handled the reservation issue was by increasing the SC and ST reservations, they have accommodated Lingayat and Vokkaliga, so all communities are happy with the BJP. Veerashaiva community is the backbone of the BJP in Karnataka and it is untrue to say they are unhappy with the party.
The way you are talking about Veerendra Patil being ousted as CM by the Congress, the Congress has also been reaching out to the Lingayats saying they should remember how the BJP treated Yediyurappa, BJP’s tallest Lingayat leader, by asking him to step down as CM.
Yediyurappa ji has made it clear on umpteen number of occasions that the resignation was his decision and nobody forced him to step down as CM. It was his decision.
What is your reaction to Congress saying they will ban the Bajrang Dal?
Vinash kale viparit buddhi (Adversity kills intelligence). What else can you expect from the Congress? They are not going to come back to power in Karnataka. They are decimated across the country and they are now dreaming of coming to power in Karnataka. Coming to the Bajrang Dal issue, Bajrang Dal is not PFI. The Congress, when they were in power, they never tried to control Naxalism or terrorism in the country. Here is our PM Modi ji who successfully controlled terror organisations. Bajrang Dal is not limited to Karnataka and is a Hindu organisation that is present across the country, so how can they ban the Bajrang Dal?
DK Shivakumar is speaking of building Hanuman temples across Karnataka if they come to power.
It’s a big joke. I think the Congress is confused in Karnataka. They have a false sense of confidence they are coming to power, which is why they speak of banning Bajrang Dal and ‘rubbish’ freebies.
Read all the Latest Politics News and Karnataka Elections 2023 updates here