Reiterating that the JD(S)-Congress coalition rule in the State will end shortly, B.S. Yeddyurappa, State BJP president, has said that the tussle between leaders of both parties will intensify following the announcement of the result of the Lok Sabha election.
Speaking to presspersons after voting in his native Shikaripur in Shivamogga Lok Sabha constituency on Tuesday, he claimed that many MLAs in the Congress are unhappy with the style of functioning of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy.
The pre-poll alliance between the Congress and the JD(S) for the Lok Sabha elections has also triggered discontent in both parties, he said.
“The discontent will result in the Congress and the JD(S) losing several key constituencies in the State. There will be a serious blame game between the leaders of both the parties and it will result in the collapse of the coalition government,” he said.
Exuding confidence that his son, B.Y. Raghavendra, BJP candidate for Shivamogga LS seat, would win by a comfortable margin, he said: “Top JD(S) leaders, including national president H.D. Deve Gowda and Mr. Kumaraswamy, had camped in Shivamogga to try and wrest the seat from the BJP. However, the voters here are impressed with the performance of the Narendra Modi-led Union government and the development works Mr. Raghavendra had initiated in Shivamogga during his tenure as MP.”
Replying to a query, he said that the BJP would win at least 22 seats in Karnataka.
Before arriving at the polling station, Mr. Yeddyurappa offered puja at Raghavendraswamy Mutt and at Hucharayaswamy Temple in Shikaripur. Mr. Raghavendra and B.Y. Vijayendra, secretary of the BJP Yuva Morcha, accompanied him.