Claiming that the ruling Congress, which came to power with a thumping majority in Karnataka in May 2023, has lost popularity within a short span of a year, veteran BJP leader B. S. Yediyurappa challenged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to dissolve the Assembly and seek a fresh mandate.
“I can tell you that the BJP will bounce back by winning 140 to 150 seats in the 224-member Assembly if polls are held now,” Mr. Yediyurappa said while addressing a special State executive of the BJP in Bengaluru on July 4.
“The Congress has no moral right to continue in power, as it has lost its popularity since it indulged in corruption by ignoring its duty of protecting the interests of Karnataka,” he alleged.
Though the Congress has 136 members in the State Assembly, the BJP had managed to get a lead in 142 Assembly segments during the recent Lok Sabha polls.
“Because of our own mistakes, we suffered a setback in some Lok Sabha seats. But people have clearly voted against the misrule and corruption of the Congress,” he claimed.
Referring to alleged financial fraud in Maharishi Valmiki ST Development Corporation and MUDA, he urged his party colleagues to take up a campaign both within the forthcoming legislature session and outside to bring pressure on the Chief Minister to quit. He suggested that party leaders embark on a tour of the State as part of this campaign.
BJP State president B. Y. Vijayendra, BJP’s poll in-charge for Karnataka Radha Mohan Das Agarwal, Leader of Opposition R. Ashok, Union Ministers V. Somanna and Shobha Karandlaje, and former CMs Jagadish Shettar and Basavaraj Bommai participated in the meeting.
