Bengaluru: On the 75th day of his Karnataka-wide tour, named “Parivarthana Yahtre”, the BJP’s most popular mass leader in the south, BS Yeddyurappa, entered his native district Mandya. Over 15,000 people turned up at his public meeting in KR Pete, his place of birth. Locals told him that they were there to back him in, what most observers believe, his last attempt at power.
The next day, he addressed three public meetings in neighbouring Melukote, Pandavapura and Srirangapatna, which saw moderate turnouts. He assured long-time party workers that the BJP will make an all-out attempt to breach the impregnable Gowda fortress, the land of Sugar Mandya.
As of January 19, the BJP’s chief ministerial face has completed touring 203 Assembly constituencies across 28 districts. His longest and the largest state tour ends on January 25 in Mysore.
Speaking exclusively to News18 at Pandavapura, Yeddyurappa said he was fighting the election on PM Narendra Modi’s development agenda, his three-and-a-half-year rule and BJP’s five-year rule in Karnataka. Attacking Rahul Gandhi’s proposed temple tours in Karnataka, Yeddyurappa called the Congress president an “opportunist Hindu who remembers his religion only during elections”.
Edited excerpts:
You have been on the road for the past 76 days. How is the response? What is your assessment?
The response has been great. It is overwhelming. Wherever I go, tens of thousands of people come to listen to me. The change is already in the air. The countdown for Siddaramaiah government has already begun. I have so far visited 203 Assembly seats in 28 districts. Will complete remaining seats in a week. I have addressed over 1.76 crore people so far. It is a record. No leader from Karnataka has done it till today. The corrupt and inefficient Congress government in the state will be history in the next 3-4 months.
You talk about development. But many other leaders from your party are making communal issues the main agenda before polls. What is your strategy? Communal or development or both?
Our agenda is development of the state. We have no other agenda. Wherever I go, I talk only about how we will develop the state if voted to power. I don’t do communal politics. I don’t practise hate.
Then what about Ananthkumar Hegde?
I have already instructed him not to raise communal issues in the election campaign. I have advised Mysore–Kodagu MP Pratap Simha too. I have told them that we should fight this election on development plank.
But, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is polarising the state. Your national president Amit Shah called Siddaramaiah government an anti-Hindu government. Is there a competition to prove who is a better Hindu? How do you explain this?
There is no competition. It is all media interpretation. We are a real Hindu party. We fight for their rights. We are not against other faiths. We are only against appeasement politics. People of Karnataka are not fools to believe the Congress’ claims that they are a better Hindu party. Please wait for the election results.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi is likely to visit major temples, mutts and seers in Karnataka. Does it affect the BJP? Will he be able to take away some of your core votes?
Not at all. Rahul Gandhi can visit any temple. It is his personal choice. But he is an opportunist Hindu. He remembers that he is a Hindu only during the elections. After that, he conveniently forgets it. Do you think people are fools to believe him? His tricks won’t work here. Even Siddaramaiah has practised anti-Hindu politics.
Does infighting in the BJP affect your chances? Who issues tickets and what is the criteria?
There is no infighting in my party. Some minor differences were there. It is a democracy. We have resolved all such issues. To get a BJP ticket, ‘winnability’ will be the main criterion. We conduct surveys in all 224 seats. We take the opinion of even our booth-level workers. Once we prepare a list, our national president Amit Shah will take the final decision.
Your two previous stints as the chief minister were full of corruption charges. You had to quit in July 2011 as CM. The government was not stable. Why do you want the people to vote you in again?
All the charges against me and my government were baseless. No charge has been proven so far. The High Court has quashed the charges against me. If Siddaramaiah and his partymen keep calling me a “jailbird”, the people won’t tolerate it. They will teach them a lesson in the coming elections.
What about your arch-rivals HD Deve Gowda and HD Kumaraswamy of the JD(S)? Do you think that elections will throw up a hung Assembly?
No way. There will be no fractured mandate. We will win comfortably. Deve Gowda and his son Kumaraswamy want to remain relevant in state politics. They can’t win. They are hoping that there will be a hung Assembly. They are day-dreaming. Let them dream till the counting day.
What is your view on the demand for separate Lingayat religion?
As I have told you earlier, the Congress is good at dividing people on the basis of caste and religion. In my opinion, Lingayat and Veerashaivas are the same. They are one and the same.
Kannada activists are demanding that you should make your clear stand on Hindi imposition…
Kannada is our state language. It is our mother tongue. We respect and love Kannada. There is no question of Hindi imposition. I don’t believe in language politics.
The Congress and JD(S) are accusing you of messing up the Mahadayi river water issue with Goa. Your response?
The Congress is creating confusion over the Mahadayi issue. Goa Congress president said that no water will be given to Karnataka around the same time that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi went to Goa (around New Year). They (Gandhis) should have condemned this in Karnataka’s interest. We (state BJP leaders) met Amit Shah and Goa CM Manohar Parrikar and got a letter from the latter assuring water for drinking purposes. Congress complicated the matter through its Goa unit.
For 30 years, nobody bothered about it. It is the Congress which created this problem and neither Rahul nor Sonia Gandhi have said a word to help solve it. Now, I make a sincere attempt to convince the Goa CM and get drinking water. (Goa CM Manohar) Parikkar writes a letter to me saying they will give it, but the CM and the water resources minister here condemn it. They don't trust this man (Siddaramaiah) or his behaviour, so they didn't write to him. Only we can solve this problem.
The BJP is wooing Dalits in a big way. A year ago, you started ‘meal with Dalits’ programme. Do you think that they will vote for your party in large numbers?
The Congress humiliated Dr. BR Ambedkar when he was alive, defeating him in elections by fielding an ordinary party worker against him. When he died, his mortal remains were refused six feet land for burial in Delhi.
PM Narendra Modi has celebrated Ambedkar with a two-day Parliament session and developed five places with connections to Ambedkar as Pancha Theerthas etc. These steps are making a huge connect with the people.
The BJP failed in its “Mission 150” in Gujarat. Will you succeed in Karnataka?
Yes, well will win more than 150 seats.
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