Cong set to lose Karnataka bypolls as per govt intelligence report: BJP
Bengaluru (PTI): The BJP on Monday claimed that, according to the Congress government’s own intelligence report, the ruling party is set to lose the by-elections in two Assembly segments in Karnataka.
Expressing confidence of a big win in the bypolls, BJP leaders said people would "teach a lesson" to the Congress, accusing it of being "anti-development".
"There has been good campaigning in both constituencies. There is confusion within Congress. In the Davanagere South segment, Muslims have decided not to vote for them, while in Bagalkot, there is infighting within the Congress candidate’s family," Leader of Opposition R Ashoka said.
Speaking to reporters, he said the CM, who had gone to campaign in Kerala, rushed back to Bagalkot following the intelligence report indicating that the Congress could lose the bypolls.
"I want to ask the Congress why it is struggling in the by-elections when it makes big claims about development and implementing guarantee schemes. Are you in a position where people will vote for you voluntarily?" he asked.
Alleging "zero development" under the Congress rule so far, the opposition leader said Siddaramaiah has made Karnataka a "debt state."
"There is no proper development, and the money under guarantee schemes is not being paid to beneficiaries on time," he added.
Bypolls for the Bagalkot and Davanagere South Assembly constituencies will be held on April 9. The polls were necessitated by the deaths of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti and Shamanur Shivashankarappa, respectively.
State BJP president B Y Vijayendra said the bypolls in the two Assembly segments have "disturbed CM Siddaramaiah’s sleep" and become a "hard nut to crack" for the Congress government.
He said that for nearly three years, the Congress government, including the chief minister and ministers, has blamed the central government for "hiding its failures".
Despite having an experienced CM who has presented a record 17 budgets, there has been no development in the state, he claimed, adding that Siddaramaiah and his government have "completely forgotten" the AHINDA (Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes, and Dalits) communities.
Asserting that people are seeking change and will not fall for Congress's "allurements", the BJP leader said the party is confident of winning the bypolls.
He said there is significant anger among voters towards the Congress government, which could signal a future political shift in the state.
Even minority communities have realised that their development is not possible under the Congress and will support the BJP, he said, adding that the party is "not anti-minorities."
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
