LS polls: BJP-JD(S) may come together but cannot suppress Cong's prospects in K'taka, says Kharge
Kalaburagi (K'taka) (PTI): Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said BJP and JD(S) may come together to fight 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka, but they will not be able to suppress Congress' prospects in the state.
"I have read in papers that they have joined hands. I also saw pictures of Deve Gowda (JDS supremo) and Narendra Modi (PM) holding hands. Maybe they are trying to come together, but how their alliance will come together, how many seats will be shared between the both is still not clear. But there are enough indications that both of them may come together," Kharge said.
Speaking to reporters here, in response to a question, whether this was the plan to suppress the Congress, he said, "No one can suppress us. We have been trying since the beginning to stand on our own feet and face the election in Karnataka."
"In the entire country as well, about 26-28 parties (INDIA bloc) have come together to face the election, because 60 per cent of votes are with the opposition parties. If 60 per cent votes come together, 40 per cent of votes are with the NDA. So, we are hopeful that in a democratic set up, we will get success," he added.
Yediyurappa on Friday said the BJP will have an understanding with former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda-led JD(S) for the Lok Sabha elections, an announcement that shot up political temperature in the State.
The veteran leader, who is also the BJP parliamentary board member, had said that as part of the poll understanding, the JD(S) will contest in four LS seats in Karnataka, which has a total of 28 constituencies.
However, earlier today, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy said discussions regarding BJP and his party contesting the Lok Sabha polls together are still at initial phase.
The BJP had swept the 2019 LS polls in Karnataka by winning 25 seats, while an independent (Sumalatha Ambareesh from Mandya) backed by it won in one seat. The Congress and JD(S) won one seat each.
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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.
