Responding to a specific question by News18 on the impact of Congress’ ‘five guarantees’, Rs 2,000 per month to women and Rs 3,000 to every unemployed graduate in Karnataka, Santhosh admitted that the promises were the Congress’ biggest campaigning point in Karnataka and The opposition party “went from house to house on the ground” with him. “(But) we have our performance card or report card compared to their guarantee card. People think that all these guarantee cards are only for the time of elections. Where is the loan waiver promised by them in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan?” he told News18.
He further said that people look for credible faces, not just promises. “With promises, they see credible faces, voices and credible leadership. What in terms of credibility does the Congress have to offer anywhere in the country – are there any better administrators they can offer than the PM Narendra Modi Or our CMs like Yogi Adityanath, Himanta Biswa Sharma, or BS Bommai? Will elections be run on sympathy only like saying that this is my last election? We have our report card. With such strong points in our favour, I think we can overcome the Guaranteed Card incident,” Santosh said in response to a question from News18.
BJP’s target
Santosh, who has been closely following the BJP’s Karnataka campaign, said that in the last 15 years, people in Karnataka have voted largely for the BJP and Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha elections, but there is “little enthusiasm” for the party. ” is less than. assembly elections. “Despite this, we were the single largest party in both 2008 and 2018. For 2023, we have set ourselves a task – a very simple task to undertake, but a very difficult one to achieve. We have been walking that difficult path for the last three months. We are trying to get a simple majority, if possible get a good majority as well. Our main objective is to cross the halfway mark, cross 120 and if possible touch 130, Santosh said.
He said the Indian electorate now gives absolute majority to whichever party it wants, as shown in recent elections. He said, ‘Now is not the era of fragmented mandate. People now give a clear mandate. We were a bit on the back foot with the Congress’s relentless attack trying to create an anti-incumbency wave against the Bommai government, but it didn’t succeed. Despite various allegations, despite the long Covid period and heavy rains last year, there is no anti-incumbency wave to bother us or hurt us… The performance of the state government has been good, if not spectacular. Santosh said that despite strong attacks from the Congress, the anti-incumbency wave did not form.
He said the PM’s catchphrase “double-engine government” means that the central and state governments complement each other. BJP governments in the states. He cited how BS Bommai’s Karnataka government added Rs 4,000 per year to 55 lakh farmers who get Rs 6,000 annually from the Centre. PM Kisan Fund plan.
‘BJP struck the right chord at the right time’
Santosh also claimed that the Congress peaked in the state by April 24-25, while the BJP’s campaign has struck the right chord at the right time. “They peaked even before the elections. Our manifesto has become very popular. Santosh said that the Congress has nothing new to offer to the people. He said the Congress had tagged the Bajrang Dal with the PFI “just to garner minority votes and for appeasement”. He asked what logic Congress has to compare PFI with Bajrang Dal. “Bajrang Dal is a nation-building force, have they done a single incident? But PFI killed many people,” said Santosh.
He hit out at Congress leader and former Union Minorities Minister K Rehman Khan for saying that PM Modi should not have asked voters to cast their votes by chanting “Jai Bajrang Bali” as it would create an atmosphere of fear for the minority community. could have been done. If this country scares anyone with ‘Jai Shri Ram’, ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, or ‘Jai Bajrang Bali’, he should first undergo a medical checkup. This is the fault of the mentality of such people. We spoke these slogans for devotion and love of the country. After the PM’s ceremony, what happened? People went home peacefully, Santosh said, “Hinduism and terrorism cannot go together.”
other disputes
Santosh also hit out at Jagadish Shettar, who accused the BJP strategist of denying him a ticket, following which the former chief minister switched over to the Congress. “On candidate selection, we had some process for it. Some senior leaders lost out, though they target individuals, no individual decides the ticket in our party,” said Santosh, detailing the selection process that exists in the BJP.
He also said that in the 2018 elections, the BJP faced some problems in five districts: Belagavi, Bijapur, Bidar, Bellary and Bengaluru. “Had we got some more seats in these five districts, we would have crossed the halfway mark. This time our leaders are focusing on such districts. On criticism that the BJP is also distributing ‘rewdi’ in this election, Santosh said it may sound like freebies to some, but the party’s idea is to empower people.
“LPG has become costlier due to the Russia-Ukraine war. We had provided Ujjwala but due to prices, Ujjwala is not giving results, so we decided to give three cylinders free of cost to people in Karnataka to deal with the crisis… It is not for everyone, it is only for BPL families Have taken it, ”said Santosh. He said the Congress targeted the BJP with the slogan “40% corruption”, but there was not a single police complaint or complaint to the Lokayukta and no FIR in any court. They have nothing to show for it. Now it’s dying. They peaked even before the elections. ,” They said.
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