IANS Interview: If Assembly elections are held today, Congress will not cross 50 seats mark, says K’taka LOP R. Ashoka

Bengaluru, May 4 Amid heightened political activities in Karnataka ahead of the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections in which the 14 remaining parliamentary seats in the state will go to polls on May 7, senior BJP leader R. Ashoka claimed that the BJP is poised for a big win in the southern state.

In an exclusive interview to IANS, Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly, Ashoka, lashed out at the Congress and said it will neither perform well in Karnataka nor come to power at the Centre.

“If Assembly elections are held today, Congress will not even cross the 50-seat mark,” he said.

Excerpts from the interview:

IANS: As a senior politician, how do you read the minds of the voters ahead of the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections in the state?

R. Ashoka: The voters in Karnataka have decided to elect Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a third term. I have been traveling around the state for the past two months and the Modi wave is more intense than what we saw in 2014 and 2019.

IANS: Will the sex video scandal surrounding JD-S leader Prajwal Revanna damage the party’s prospects in the Lok Sabha polls?

R. Ashoka: Law and order is a state subject. It is the duty of the Congress government to ensure justice for the victims. This case has nothing to do with the BJP. JD-S is our alliance partner and we have given them three seats as part of the seat-sharing formula. We had no say in who puts the JD-S in these seats. In fact, it is Congress that is playing politics in this issue.

IANS: What is your view on Congress’s claim that it will win 20 seats in Karnataka this time?

R. Ashoka: First of all, Congress had no candidates to contest the Lok Sabha elections. Initially, when the Congress high command wanted its ministers to contest the elections, no one came forward. So they gave tickets to the relatives of ministers and MLAs.

In around 18 of the 28 seats in the state, the Congress has distributed tickets to children or relatives of the sitting ministers. Why didn’t the ministers contest the elections themselves if they were confident of victory? The Congress knows that it will neither perform well in Karnataka nor come to power at the Centre. Forget twenty seats. If Assembly elections are held today, Congress will not even cross the 50-seat mark.

IANS: The BJP is targeting the Congress for its ‘appeasement politics’. How serious do you think the problem is?

R. Ashoka: It is already affecting the state. The fundamentalist groups have been emboldened in the state due to the appeasement policy of the Congress government. There is no fear of law among the anti-social and anti-national elements.

The cafe bomb blast in Bengaluru, the raising of pro-Pakistani slogans at the Vidhana Soudha, the attack on people playing Hanuman Chalisa, the daylight murder of a Hindu girl in Hubballi – all these incidents are not mere coincidence. These are direct consequences and consequences of appeasement politics.

IANS: Deputy CM DK Shivakumar claims that the BJP’s move to give tickets to 15 new faces shows fear of defeat. Your opinion…

R. Ashoka: For the first time in India’s history, a government is going to elections with a wave of supporters of the incumbent, even after ten years in office. Prime Minister Modi’s popularity and approval ratings remain high. So where is the question about the fear of defeat? Our Prime Minister candidate is Narendra Modi.

IANS: Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi raise the issue of Prajwal Revanna. Your reactions?

R. Ashoka: The Congress is simply trying to drag Prime Minister Modi and HM Amit Shah into this matter and politicize the entire issue. Law and order are a state subject. Why did they fly the suspect out of the country? Why did they delay the investigation?

IANS

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