Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas M. Veerappa Moily said the Congress would come to power with a majority in the State and would triumph in all 13 constituencies in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi.
Addressing presspersons before setting off on election campaign for B. Ramanath Rai, the Congress candidate from Bantwal on Thursday, Mr. Moily said the BJP had split into three — referring to the formation of Karnataka Janata Party and BSR Congress — and this could reduce the party’s tally.
“Operation Kamala has dented the image of the party and people lost trust in the MLAs who changed parties. Over the last five years, Karnataka has become the most corrupt State, while in development and social indices the State has slipped from fourth in early 90s to 12 now,” he said.
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On the electoral prospects of the Janata Dal (Secular), he said their “fortress had crumbled” and the party has a presence only in four districts — Hassan, Mysore, Chamrajnagar, Ramanagar. “I don’t expect them to win more than 15 seats. They are giving assurances to minorities and farmers which they could not implement during their tenure. People will also remember them for betraying the Congress to form an alliance with the BJP. They subsequently betrayed BJP also,” Mr. Moily said.
He discounted the impact of Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) in the district, saying people knew there was “no point in voting for a party that cannot influence” the formation of the government in any way.