MYSURU: Winding up his
two-day tour of Mysuru,
Chamarajanagar and
Mandya districts, party’s national president
Amit Shah on Saturday said a victory in Karnataka would be a stepping stone for the saffron party’s expansionist policy down south.
“Winning the elections and forming a strong government here will definitely open the door for the BJP to the southern part of the country,” he told reporters.
Shah said the Karnataka elections, be it a win or loss, will also have a bearing on the 2019 Parliamentary elections. He said the BJP is the only alternative for Siddaramaiah-government in Karnataka, which is “nothing more than an ATM of corruption for the Congress”.
“After the 2014 elections, we’ve removed the Congress from 11 states and I do not see any competition from the Siddaramaiah-government as people have made up their mind to remove the corrupt governance in the state,” he said.
Justifying the party’s increased focus on Mysuru, he said: “This is the only region in the state where the BJP doesn’t have a single MLA.”
Shah said the Parliamentary board of the party will finalise the candidates shortly. He said tickets will be given to those who “confine to the norms of public life.”
On the prospects of Janardhana Reddy, who’s jailed for illegal mining, Shah said: “The BJP has nothing to do with Reddy.”
He said the party won’t retract its assurance given to CM candidate B S Yeddyurappa.“The BJP has announced that Yeddyurappa will be the CM and will continue to remain so for five years when the party comes to power,” he added.
