Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who is facing the first-ever Assembly poll test under his leadership with the upcoming byelections, has maintained that the polls will not be a referendum on the effectiveness of his governance or the BJP’s popularity. “Such things are decided in the general elections,” he told reporters on Sunday in Haveri, en route to Hangal, where he addressed a party rally.
“When Siddaramaiah was Chief Minister, the then ruling Congress won two bypolls to the Assembly. But he lost the general elections. This shows that bypolls are not indicative of party popularity,” he said.
At the same time, the Chief Minister expressed confidence that the BJP would win both seats set to see bypolls.
He also said that Mr. Siddaramaiah and JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy were engaged in a competition to abuse the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. “They are doing it only to win over the minority vote in these elections. Their allegations against nationalist organisations such as the RSS are baseless,” he said. Mr. Kumaraswamy’s allegation that RSS-supported persons who were n ominated to universities were engaged in large-scale corruption are meaningless and untrue, he added.
Later, at Hangal, Mr. Bommai addressed a party workers’ rally and said voting for the BJP would lead to a new chapter of development of the taluk.
The Chief Minister, who earlier called on the family members of the late C.M. Udasi, apparently to pacify them in the wake of the family not getting party ticket, showered praise on the veteran leader, whose death necessitated the bypoll in Hangal. “Mr. Udasi worked for the taluk till his last breath. He brought the government engineering college, diploma and ITI colleges to the district. He organised farmers and created awareness among them about crop insurance. The farmers in Hangal constituency are probably the largest beneficiaries of the crop insurance scheme,” he said.
