BJP won't surpass 65 seats in Karnataka polls: State Congress
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Bengaluru: Karnataka Congress party president DK Shivakumar claimed on Wednesday that BJP could not win more than 65 seats in the upcoming state Assembly elections here, and the numbers might even come down to 40, while the total number of seats is 224. On Tuesday, the leader had claimed that Congress would win more than 140 seats, PTI reported.
According to his claims, Karnataka people were angry against the incumbent BJP government.
He told reporters here, "We have a guarantee about our numbers, we also have a guarantee that BJP's numbers will not go beyond 65. What the BJP is doing or saying is their internal matter, Yediyurappa has said something (about winning over 140 seats) based on their calculation, I don't want to interfere with their party."
He added, "This is definite, but according to me, it will not be surprising if their number comes down to 40, like they had got 40 seats (in 2013 Assembly polls), after the first term of the BJP government in the state (from 2008-13). So, it will not be surprising if the '40 per cent commission BJP government' comes down to 40 seats, people are that angry, you ask whomever you want, anywhere."
In the 2018 polls, BJP won 104 seats and emerged as the single largest party in the state. Congress had won 80 seats while JD(S) had 37. But later, BJP's tally increased, giving it a majority in the Assembly after many Congress and JD(S) MLAs left their respective parties to join BJP.
On the Congress's screening committee meeting for the party's work on selecting candidates, Shivakumar said, today, too, there is a meeting, we have reached a stage, completing almost 75 per cent of the process, today we will complete it fully, after this it will be sent to the national level (AICC)."
"We will do the process (to choose candidates) and intimate those concerned," he said
According to him, the incumbent chief minister of the BJP-led government in Karnataka, Basavaraj Bommai, is a "Sullina Saradaara" (lord of lies). He was reacting to the CM's call that Congress' promise of 100 units of free power was "bogus". He said that the CM himself is making false promises to the people of the state and are not keeping up with those made earlier.