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Karnataka: In the lead-up to the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections, Brijesh Chowta, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate for Dakshina Kannada, criticized the ruling party in the state, alleging that the Congress consistently seeks to appease the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political arm of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI).
The BJP has named Brijesh Chowta, a former army officer and entrepreneur, as its replacement for incumbent Dakshina Kannada MP and former Karnataka BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel. The BJP candidate also spoke on Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar's reaction to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks about the Congress party's manifesto promises. The PM had alleged that the Congress party intends to implement policies that would seize immovable assets and women's gold and distribute them among various groups. "DK Shiv Kumar is trying to consolidate his vote bank in Karnataka, so he's trying to appease the sections and wants to reach out. That is what they have been doing. The Congress party, under Karnataka Chief Minister Siddharamaiah, tries to appease the PFI-SDPI for a vote bank," said Chowta. Earlier, DK Shivakumar emphasized that the Prime Minister, as the head of the country, has taken an oath to uphold the Constitution, and said that "he should treat all people equally without differentiation." "The Prime Minister should be aware that he has taken an oath to the Constitution. As the Head of the country, he should treat all people equally without differentiation. Sending divisive messages across the country and the world is unfair and sends a negative message," Shivakumar said while speaking to a section of the media here on Monday. BJP's Brijesh Chowta said, "This time there is an open alliance in Karnataka. All sorts of forces got together to defeat Modi, but the people of this country will deliver a thumping majority to PM Narendra Modi on June 4." Asked about Congress leader Manish Tiwari's remark that "BJP will be wiped in South, halved in North, and that the BJP will not be able to cross the 150 marks, forget the 400," Chowta said that the BJP has been discussing issues with the people on the ground level while the Congress party has been discussing the issues while sitting in AC chambers. "The problem with the Congress party is that they have been sitting in AC chambers and discussing issues with the urban Naxal, but we BJP workers and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been working on the ground level, meeting with the people, and reaching out to all sections of society," he said. "While working at ground level, we can see the love and affection that people are showering upon PM Modi. He had recently come to a road show in Mangalore and everybody watched people respond to it grandly," he added. Expressing confidence in sweeping all 28 seats in the state, Chowta said, "There are just 3 days left for Phase 2 of the Lok Sabha election and I can assure everyone that we are going to win all 28 seats in Karnataka under PM Modi's leadership." Asked about Congress' allegation that BJP purportedly using the Hubbali murder case as a means to "divide society,", Chowta said, "The incident wherein the daughter of a Congress corporator was stabbed to death was a gruesome incident and the sad part is that the Congress is trying to trivialize the issue, that is the whole matter." The Lok Sabha elections for 28 seats in Karnataka are scheduled to take place over two phases, with polling slated for April 26 and May 7. The counting of votes will be held on June 4. In 2019, the BJP won 25 out of the 28 seats, while the Congress party was only able to win one seat. This election comes after the Congress party stormed into power with a massive victory in the assembly polls last year. (ANI)
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