Former Minister and BJP MP representing Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha constituency V. Srinivas Prasad said the party does not need the support of JD(S) in the ensuing elections to the Karnataka Legislative Council.
During a media conference in Mysuru on December 7, Mr. Prasad said the BJP had proved its worth by becoming the only party other than Congress to come to power at the Centre on its own. The support of JD(S) is not inevitable for the BJP.
He referred to the alliance JD(S) had with the Congress during the Lok Sabha elections of 2019. “How many seats did they win? They could win only one seat each,” he remarked.
On former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa’s request for JD(S) support in constituencies where the latter had not fielded its candidates, Mr. Prasad said the BJP high command will take a decision on the proposed understanding between the two parties.
He said there is no need for former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy to repeatedly criticise the RSS. “I can understand him criticising the BJP, which is a political party. But, what is the need to criticise the RSS, which is a cultural organisation?”
When his attention was drawn to the growing political proximity between former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and JD(S) MLA representing Chamundeshwari Assembly constituency G.T. Deve Gowda, Mr. Prasad said, “Mr. Siddaramaiah had displayed political weakness by contesting from two constituencies despite being the Chief Minister. There was no need for him to abandon the constituencies from where he had been elected five to six times, and enter the fray from Badami.”
With regard to BJP candidate Raghu Kautilya’s chances in Mysuru-Chamarajanagar legislative council seat, Mr. Prasad said the Congress and JD(S) were traditional rivals in the region, but the BJP’s strength has improved since the last elections when the party nominee had lost narrowly. He expressed confidence that the party will win the election from the dual-member seat.
Strategy for voting
In view of the possibility of confusion among the electorate at the time of exercising their franchise in the preferential pattern of voting, party leaders have been appealing to its supporters to cast only one vote in favour of the BJP candidate, he said.
