From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bengaluru, Apr 17: KPCC Chief and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Wednesday predicted that the ruling party will win more than 20 out of the 28 seats and will never allow BJP-JDS combine to scrap the Congress government’s guarantees which have helped crores of Kannadigas.
Addressing party workers at the KPCC office, Shivakumar said State BJP President B Y Vijayendra must be living in a dream world to claim that the NDA government will scrap the guarantees after coming to power for the third time at the Centre.
“All these BJP and JDS leaders like Vijayendra, H D Kumaraswamy, B S Yediyurapa and R Ashok will never be able to do anything against the Congress government’s guarantees, which have helped more than 4.5 crore out of the State’s 6 crore population,” he declared.
Shivakumar said Yediyurappa’s son and Vijayendra’s elder brother B Y Raghavendra will not be able to retain his Shivamogga seat as the enthusiasm and support extended by the people during the filing of the nomination papers by Congress candidate Geetha Shivarajkumar, daughter of former chief minister S Bangarappa.
The BJP-JDS leaders are frustrated and jealous at the Congress government’s guarantees and their impact. This has made them to make all kinds of claims and baseless criticisms against the guarantees, he said.
The KPCC Chief said the BJP is making tall claims of winning 400 plus seats in the Lok Sabha out of the 543 seats, which will never happen. “If the BJP is so confident why the BJP and NDA changed over 100 sitting MPs in the country and replace 14 sitting MPs in the State,” he asked pointing out that it indicates the nervousness of the BJP.
He said the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has claimed that BJP will not win more than 140 seats. “Rahul Gandhi has more information because he has been touring the entire country and meeting people and leaders. I know BJP will be defeated in this election,” he warned.
Shivakumar said the people are angry at the Narendra Modi government’s 10-year rule with price rise, unemployment and communal polarisation spiralling.
The BJP leaders including Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah and others, who were ridiculing the Congress guarantees, have become totally nervous and insecure after the success of the guarantees in Karnataka and Telangana. “The BJP leaders are now talking about Modi ki Guarantee without doing anything in 10 years,” he said.
The KPCC Chief indicated that he will be joining Rahul Gandhi and campaign for him in Wayanad in Kerala on Thursday. “Rahul Gandhi is a fighter and is not afraid of anybody. He works for the people and lives among the people.
Answering questions from the media, Shivakumar said the Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje does not know what she is speaking and her claim that Rahul Gandhi’s campaigning for the Congress will not affect the BJP. “If she is so confident, why did she have to run away from Chikkamagalur-Udupi and contest from Bengaluru North ousting gentleman politician D V Sadananda Gowda. She must have forgotten the go-back-Shobha campaign by her own partymen in Chikkamagaluru,” he said.