Jagadish Shettar, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, is considered the face of the BJP in the Bombay Karnataka region. A Lingayat leader and former Chief Minister, Mr. Shettar says the BJP will ‘sweep the region’ this time.
What are the prospects of the BJP in Bombay Karnataka region?
We have won the most seats in the region since the 2004 elections. Despite the debacle in 2013 because of the split and emergence of the KJP, we secured a good voting percentage. This time, we hope to garner 37% of the vote share in the region. Both Bengaluru and Bombay Karnataka region have registered the highest vote share for the BJP and KJP put together. This time, we are all united and the BJP will make a clean sweep.
What are the issues for you in the region?
Lack of development has the been the major issue for the districts of Bombay Karnataka. The Congress governments have been neglecting the region and the Siddaramaiah government too was apathetic towards the region. Before coming to power, they said they would allocate ₹10,000 crore every year for the Krishna basin projects but failed to take up works as promised. When their term came to an end, they told a blatant lie that they never promised anything of that sort but had promised to allocate ₹10,000 crore each year for irrigation projects of the State. As per statistics, they have so far spent only ₹8,000 crore for Krishna basin projects.
Is the BJP apprehensive of the Lingayat and Mahadayi issues hampering its prospects?
Absolutely not. My view is that the Lingayat issue will boomerang and hit the Congress badly. We will tell people that the Lingayat issue is part of Congress’s policy of divide and rule. We are clear on the issue, we will go by the Akhil Bharat Veerashaiva Masabha’s decision on it. The Mahasabha has condemned the government decision.
