Voting for JD(s) means voting for Congress: Amit Shah

Sakleshpur, Karnataka: Voting for JD(S) and other regional parties in Karnataka means voting for Congress, Union Home Minister Amit Shah told people in the state's Hassan district on Monday.

He asked voters to vote for BJP candidates to victory and thereby strengthen the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"You made JD(S) win in the last election, but what happened at the end was they sat along with Congress. So voting for JD(S) means voting for Congress. Do you want to vote for Congress?" Shah asked.

Addressing the crowd, the Home Minister said, "If you don't want your votes to go failed, cast it directly to BJP and our candidates."

Hassan is the home district of JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, and the party in 2018 Assembly polls had won in six out of seven segments other than the Hassan Assembly seat, which BJP's Preetham Gowda had won, making it the first-ever win for the saffron party in the Vokkaliga dominated district in recent times.

HK Kumaraswamy, sitting MLA and senior JD(S) leader, is their candidate from Sakleshpur.

Further, he said that Preetham Gowda had done a good job against the "dynasts" in the district and under his work, BJP will win more seats in the district.

"BJP will win this time in Hassan district, and lotuses will bloom. I request the people and voters of Sakaleshpur to ensure 'Cement' Manjunath (BJP candidate) wins and strengthen Modi's hands," Shah claimed.

He reminded that JD(S) and Congress had given four per cent reservation for Muslims in Karnataka, the Union Home Minister said the BJP government has removed it and increased reservations for Lingayats, Vokkaligas and SC/STs.

The JD(S) and Congress say that they will come to power and bring in Muslim reservations once again. "I want to ask whose (reservation) will you reduce? Will you reduce Vokkaligas or Lingayats or SC/STs? You are against whom? tell it to the people of Karnataka." Shah asked.