We never expected Muslim votes : Eshwarappa
Shivamogga: Senior Karnataka BJP leader K S Eshwarappa today said the party would form the next government securing absolute majority by banking on the "Hindutva and Modi wave".
Eshwarappa said the BJP was banking strongly on "Hindutva and Modi wave" to win comfortably to form the government without seeking support from the JD(S) headed by former prime minister H D Deve Gowda.
In an interview with PTI, Eshwarappa told there was no "polarisation game" being played in the polls.
"Since 1999, we have fought elections keeping aside Muslims. We never expected Muslim votes despite which we have been supporting them," he said.
The 70-year-old Eshwarappa said that he is confident of defeating the sitting Congress MLA B Prasanna Kumar in Shimoga constituency with a huge margin. Last time, Eshwarappa had lost to Kumar by 6,000 votes.
Dismissing opinion polls, he asserted that there would be no hung assembly and people would give a clear verdict to form the government for the next five years.
Stepping up its Hindutva narrative in the elections, Eshwarappa also said the "NAMO" factor would also be the key for BJP's victory in the state.The Modi wave is strong in the state, he claimed.
"Their burning desire is to save Hindutva and they believe it is possible under Modi's leadership."
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Maharashtra Cong chief Nana Patole scrapes through in Sakoli, wins by 208 votes
Mumbai, Nov 23: Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole survived a scare from his nearest BJP rival in the Sakoli assembly constituency but managed to win the tight contest by a narrow margin of 208 votes.
Patole, the incumbent Congress MLA from Sakoli, polled 96,795 votes, while his challenger from BJP, Avinash Brahmankar, came tantalisingly close to bagging 96,587 votes.
Independent nominee Somadatta Karanjekar was a distant third, bagging 18,309 votes.
While Patole managed to save the face with the thin margin, the Congress unit led by him and the Maha Vikas Aghadi were routed by the BJP-led Mahayuti in the one-sided contest.
