How do you see the ground reaction now that polling day is just a few days away?
There has been tremendous response across the state and in every function or rally, be it Yeddyurappa ji or Bommai or Modi ji or Amit bhai, people have made up their mind that they want to give a clear mandate to the BJP. I am also confident that the BJP will return to power with an absolute majority.
There is a tough fight in Karnataka and most surveys are showing that the BJP seems to be halfway away. How do you see it?
Till a week ago, most surveys gave an edge to the Congress party, but the same surveys are now predicting a simple majority for the BJP. That is, in a week, especially after the rallies of the Prime Minister across the state, tremendous response has been seen in favor of BJP. From the trends we see in the last few weeks, BJP will come to power with absolute majority and there is no question of a hung assembly or Congress party coming back to power. The people of Karnataka will again bless the BJP.
PM Modi is on a massive outreach program in the city he is visiting, and is spread over a distance of about 40 km in a city in Bengaluru. How many seats will it affect and how many seats is BJP expected to get?
There is no doubt that PM is roaming across the state and the way people are responding to his rallies shows that people will bless BJP. The people of Karnataka are fed up with a hung assembly and have seen that in the end the state and the people are paying the price, as development suffers due to the confusion created when there is a coalition government (Congress-JDS) ) in Karnataka. People are very clear that they do not want Congress or a hung assembly. Every day PM is covering more than three to four districts and that’s why I am telling you the trend in last few weeks is in favor of BJP.
You are contesting from Shikaripura. How easy or difficult is it going to be for you to step into your father’s shoes?
Let me tell you one thing, no one can replace Yediyurappa ji. he is a legend. When it comes to Shikaripura, I feel privileged to be able to contest from the constituency that my father represented for the last four decades. I never expected that I am going to contest from Shikaripura and I am thankful to the party high command for giving me this opportunity.
So was Varun your choice?
Of course I have fans in Varuna too. But I am grateful to the high command for allowing me to contest from Shikaripura and I have covered every village at least thrice and visited every booth in my constituency. All the workers are excited and they want to ensure that BJP wins with a huge margin.
There is a feeling in North Karnataka region that Lingayats are moving away from BJP and reservation given was just an election promise, nothing has been done in three years.
If the Lingayat community has any faith in any political party, it is the BJP. People have not forgotten how the Congress treated the Veerashaiva community when they unceremoniously removed Virendra Patil. The way they were humiliated a few decades ago and the way the Siddaramaiah government, when they were desperate to come back to power, stooped to the level of dividing the Veerashaiva and Lingayat communities… In Karnataka, people like Don’t accept politics. Congress has stooped to the level of dividing the Veerashaiva community. Said that not only Lingayats, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are also with BJP. The way CM Bommai handled reservation issue by increasing SC and ST reservation, he has accommodated Lingayat and Vokkaliga, so all communities are happy with BJP. The Veerashaiva community is the backbone of the BJP in Karnataka and it is untrue to say that they are unhappy with the party.
The way you are talking about the removal of Virendra Patil from the post of Chief Minister by the Congress, the Congress is also reaching out to the Lingayats saying that they should remember that the BJP asked Yeddyurappa, the tallest Lingayat leader of the BJP, to step down as the Chief Minister. How did you treat them by asking for
Yeddyurappa ji has made it clear on several occasions that the resignation was his decision and no one forced him to step down as Chief Minister. It was his decision.
What is your reaction to the talk of Congress banning Bajrang Dal?
Vinash Kale Viparita Buddhi (Adversity kills the intellect). What else can you expect from Congress? They are not going to come back to power in Karnataka. They have been wiped out across the country and are now dreaming of coming to power in Karnataka. Coming to the issue of Bajrang Dal, Bajrang Dal is not PFI. When Congress was in power, it never tried to control naxalism or terrorism in the country. Here is our PM Modi ji who successfully controlled terrorist organizations. Bajrang Dal is not limited to Karnataka and is a Hindu organization which is present all over the country, so how can they ban Bajrang Dal?
DK Shivakumar is talking about building Hanuman temples all over Karnataka if he comes to power.
Big joke. I think Congress is confused in Karnataka. They have false confidence of coming to power, so they talk of banning Bajrang Dal and freebies ‘nonsense’.
read all latest politics news And karnataka election 2023 update here