Hubballi: Union Home Minister and BJP Electoral Chief Strategist Amit Shah on Monday said Ex-CM Jagadish Shettar will lose the upcoming assembly election because Hubballi has always voted for BJP, not for an individual.
“No harm is done. Jagadish Shettar himself will lose the election. Hubballi has always voted for BJP. Hubballi has not given vote to an individual, and BJP workers are united and definitely BJP will win the election in Hubballi,” he told reporters here at a press conference.
A couple of days after Shettar was denied ticket by the BJP to contest from Hubballi-Dharwad Central constituency, he tendered his resignation as BJP MLA by handing over the letter to Karnataka Speaker Vishveshwar Hegde Kageri and next day resigned from the primary membership of the party before joining Congress.
Asked why Shettar was denied a ticket, Shah said: “Many people have been denied the ticket. Shettar ji is not the only leader who was denied a ticket.”
Asked about Congress party’s narrative that the BJP has humiliated its Lingayat leaders, Shah said the grand old party does not have any right to talk about it as it is the Congress that humiliated the only two Lingayat chief ministers in the state’s political history.
Moreover, the party has not meted out injustice to Lingayat leaders, because not a single ticket has been given to a non-Lingayat in place of a Lingayat, he said.
“I want to ask Congress a question. When two of our leaders (Shettar and Savadi) went to Congress, their mouths started watering. Brother, what did the Congress party do for Lingayats?,” Shah asked.
“In the whole political history of the state, only two chief ministers from the Lingayat community were elected. Both were humiliated and removed. One was removed by Mrs Indira Gandhi, and the other, I am talking about Virendra Patil, was removed by Rajiv Gandhi at the airport. Congress has no right to talk about Lingayats,” he added.
On the contrary, the BJP has always tried to respect all castes, and treat everybody in equal terms, Shah said.
Asked to comment on Savadi and Shettar’s comments that a few vested interests are controlling BJP in Karnataka, Shah said the BJP is not under the control of individuals.
He argued that these very “vested interests” had earlier made Shettar and Savadi chief minister and deputy chief minister, respectively.
“In whose grasp was it until now? When he (Savadi) was made the deputy chief minister, they all (BL Santosh and central party leaders) were at the helm of affairs. Look, BJP is all about teamwork. BJP is not under the control of individuals.”
On senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah’s comments “against Lingayats” – as alleged by the BJP – Shah said the grand old party has once again established the rule that it demeans and defames the community.
Siddaramaiah had said the present Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, belonging to Lingayat community, is the root cause for all corruption in the state.
The BJP picked up the issue and started a smear campaign against the senior Congress leader, labelling him anti-Lingayat. However, Siddaramaiah clarified that he was only talking about Bommai, not the entire Lingayat community.
Asked about the party’s strategy to win majority seats in Old Mysuru Region which they haven’t done yet, Shah said, “There is no strategy. We want to form a majority government. We want the people of Old Mysuru Region to come with BJP. We are taking our views to them. I have full faith that BJP will get good success in the Old Mysuru Regions,” he said. UNI
