A party source said the Congress is focusing on fulfilling the five guarantees.
New Delhi:
With the BJP insisting on making the issue of ban on Bajrang Dal an election issue, the Congress is counting on its five ‘guarantees’ for victory in the upcoming Karnataka assembly elections. Party sources gave this information on Thursday.
He said the Congress has conducted a survey after releasing its manifesto, in which it has promised to ban Bajrang Dal if voted to power in the southern state.
One of the sources said, “Only 7 per cent voters in Karnataka are aware of the issue. Less than 10 per cent of them think it is an election issue.”
The findings state that the majority of those surveyed were voters of the BJP and that the concentration of anti-BJP voters in favor of the Congress is far greater on this issue.
A senior party leader said, “In only four seats in coastal Karnataka, surveys have shown that there could be a loss of 1,000-1,500 votes due to the issue. Candidates there have been informed to fight hard.” “
Another source said, “While the BJP is focusing on this (Bajrang Dal) issue, the Congress is focusing on giving five guarantees and ensuring a majority for the party in Karnataka.”
The Congress is hoping to wrest power from the BJP in the southern state and all its leaders have been roped in to campaign for the party ahead of the May 10 elections.
With Lord Hanuman coming to the center stage in Karnataka elections, the Congress has come on the defensive. It on Thursday promised to renovate Hanuman temples across the state after pro-Hindu outfits drew flak over the party’s promise to ban outfits like Bajrang Dal in its manifesto two days ago.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi compared the proposed ban on Bajrang Dal to locking up Hanuman and his devotees, former Deputy Chief Minister KS Eshwarappa trashed the Congress manifesto.
Bajrang Dal workers also tore the Congress manifesto, beat it with slippers and protested by holding rallies in many parts of the state.
Senior Congress leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister M Veerappa Moily on Wednesday said the party had no suggestion to ban the Bajrang Dal if voted to power.
In Udupi, he said the Congress had mentioned action against organizations like the Bajrang Dal in its manifesto in the backdrop of the Supreme Court’s strong observations against politics of hate.
Mr Moily said that the states do not have the power to ban such organizations.
Meanwhile, Hindutva organizations have also decided to chant the Hanuman Chalisa – 40 couplets written in Awadhi, a dialect of Hindi, by the 16th-century saint-poet Goswami Tulsidas.
With emotions running high, the issues on which the grand old party wanted to contest the May 10 polls have been put on the backburner as its state unit chief DK Shivakumar has tried to run a temple, which has been razed for an attempt to damage it. being seen as Control.
After worshiping Chamundeshwari, the goddess of Mysuru, as well as Anjaneya, on the Chamundi hill in Mysuru, Sri Sivakumar promised to either build more Hanuman temples or renovate existing ones across the state.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)