There is no anti-incumbency factor in Karnataka nor will the BJP have to strike post-poll alliances in the state, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai told News18 in an exclusive interview.
Lashing out at Congress’s poll promise to ban Bajrang Dal in the state if it comes to power, Bommai said the grand old party is trying to appease minorities and has resorted to spreading lies on the Muslim quota as well. He added that Backward castes among Muslims will continue to be covered under the EWS category.
The CM also expressed confidence that Lingayat leaders Jagadish Shettar and Laxman Savadi leaving the BJP for the Congress will have no impact on Karnataka elections 2023, adding that the party would win both seats against the duo.
Talking about his own fortunes post Karnataka election results on May 13, Bommai said the “party will take care” of him.
Edited excerpts:
This election, up until two weeks ago, was a neck-and-neck fight. Do you think the ground is sort of shifting from beneath the Congress’s feet?
Certainly. There is an upsurge in the last 15-20 days. A lot of ground work has been done by the BJP cadre. The entire party is geared up and the workers are in high spirits. That has helped us take a lot of issues straight to the people.
Whatever the Congress tried to do, their lies and falsehood… it never stuck to anybody.
You can see on the ground that there is no anti-incumbency. Of course, there might be some anti-incumbency at the constituency-level, but at the state-level, there is no anti-incumbency.
The Congress made a promise yesterday to ban the Bajrang Dal. They are saying it is an extremist organisation, a militant organisation. Why is the BJP and your extended organisation making this such a big issue in the election campaign?
The Congress very well knows that the Bajrang Dal is not a militant organisation. The issue is they tried to satisfy the minorities on PFI and SDPI. In the hurry to satisfy them, they have shown the Bajrang Dal as among them. You can’t weigh a nationalist-thinking organisation on the same scale as an anti-national organisation.
In the case of PFI, it has been proved again and again… a lot of people have been put behind bars. But in the case of Bajrang Dal, there is not even a single case of that sort. The Congress has blatantly tried to appease the minority so there is a very big reaction against it. People can see through the game of Congress.
But they have put down a list of cases that were filed against Bajrang Dal activists, some by your government, in the last couple of years.
The nature of cases against Bajrang Dal and the nature of cases against PFI are totally different. Most of the PFI cases are being handled by the National Investigation Agency, which means international terror connections are there. Show me one such case in Bajrang Dal. To ban any organisation, there are rules and the state government doesn’t the power to do that. The Bajrang Dal is in so many states. The Congress can’t even dream of coming to power, so this is a poll gimmick to appease the minority.
The BJP is taking up these national issues like the remarks against the Prime Minister, now you the Bajrang Dal issue. The Congress, meanwhile, says talk about local issues, including 40% commission allegations.
If you use foul language and expect it not to become an issue, then I think something is wrong in their thinking. They had started this issue. In the first speech in Humnabad, the Prime Minister spoke of development, of double-engine Sarkar and a lot of development work in terms of roads, rails, infrastructure, food security and drinking water. Then came this foul game started by the Congress.
But when it comes to these polarising issues, your government also removed the minority quota and gave it to Lingayats. The Supreme Court also asked what the hurry was. The Congress is saying the BJP wants to set the narrative that polarising issues are talked about more and not development issues.
The minority quota was not backed by data or legality. In fact, we have given them some kind of security. For example, among the poorest of poor Muslims, there are 17 sub-castes. They are still in Backward Class. We have not removed them. They are in Schedule 1 and Schedule 2A. The economic criteria was there even for Backward Classes. In fact, from 4%, we have increased it to 10%.
10% reservation is for all economically backward people?
Hardly 4-5 castes are there. So they are better off. The Congress is misguiding the Muslims. There was a very well-written article in the leading paper of the country that said how we can safeguard the real Muslims. And this should be considered by states like Tamil Nadu where they are trying to implement minority quota.
When ticket allocation was announced, some of your senior leaders like Jagadish Shettar left. The Congress says this is proof of how the BJP treats Lingayat leaders. Have you addressed this issue?
Certainly. The party made these two gentlemen (Shettar and Laxman Savadi) everything; from speaker, minister, chief minister to party president. In the other case, even though he lost, he was made deputy CM. Tell me, after all this, if they rebel, will people not see through it? There is no question of any ill-effect. These are all cadre-based seats, so nothing is going to happen.
So you are confident that the BJP will win both seats against Shettar and Savadi?
As things stand today, we are going to win both seats.
Let me ask about your opponents. Do you believe the issue between Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar is settled?
No, it will not be settled ever, because both chemistry is very different. For Siddaramaiah, it is his last chance to become CM. He has openly said that you should vote for the Congress to make him CM. He never said vote for the Congress for the betterment of the state. Even DK Shivakumar, in all forums, says the same. They have been publicly fighting it out. The language they use shows their chemistry.
So you don’t think that when Siddaramaiah said this is his last election, there will be some sympathy among Backward Castes?
See, there was sympathy when he was not made the CM. Once he was made CM for five years, there is no question of sympathy.
Let me talk about the JDS as that party seems to be floundering and there is a school of thought which says the better the JDS performs, the better it is for the BJP. Because every time the JDS has got 25 or 30 seats, it has helped the BJP and dented the Congress.
No, it is the other way around. The more the JDS gets, the more the chances of Congress and JDS tying up post-poll. They did it the last time. Unfortunately, this time, both won’t get any numbers.
And you are not going to have any post poll arrangement with the JDS or anyone?
We have decided not to have.
So if you fall short of 113 seats, you are ready to sit in opposition?
The situation won’t arise. People will give us a clear mandate. Since we are very confident, that question is not on our table.
We don’t know what the future will bring; we don’t know who is going to get 113 seats. What happens to Mr Basavraj Bommai after Karnataka election results on May 13?
I’ll be there and my party will take care of me in whatever form. I am always with the party.
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