We know how that ended in UP: Malviya on on BJP’s Karnataka battle

Ruling BJP has been hogging the headlines for wrong reasons since it has released two lists of its candidates for the Karnataka Assembly elections.

The party's list is filled with surprises, especially the seats allotted to R. Ashoka and V. Somanna, who will now be taking on Congress stalwarts, D.K. Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah respectively.

There have been protests at the ground level, who are mostly the supporters of several aspirants who have been denied ticket this time. Congress and JDS have in fact questioned the list by the BJP and media reports are rife with speculations that the party's prospects may be hurt in the upcoming elections in Karnataka to be held on May 10.

Speaking to OneIndia, BJP's IT Cell head Amit Malviya explains that the Karnataka Congress in 2023 is like the Congress of 2017 in Uttar Pradesh, which had a feeble presence on the ground, too much chatter otherwise. "We all know how that ended. Now again, they are at it. The politically daft are scrutinising the BJP's list without realising that the candidates seek a winning party's ticket," Malviya also said.

Malviya further added that although the Congress released its initial list in Karnataka much in advance, there was no excitement around it. "Siddaramaiah struggled to secure a safe seat and now D.K. Shivakumar is unsure. Instead of going over the BJP's list, they should worry about the lack of enthusiasm around their own lists," Malviya argued.

Senior Karnataka BJP leader S. Prakash too claim that there is no infighting within the party. Anyone who has been denied a ticket will rebel and this is not a new phenomenon. Many who have been rebelling have been given plum posts in the party, but they continue to remain unsatisfied, Prakash rued.

Such rebellions are nothing new, but due to the advent of the electronic media, such incidents have become more prominant, added Prakash. Many of these disgruntled people are coming out protesting in the public just because they are loyal to their leader, not to the party. However, they would ultimately fall back as getting the BJP back to power would remain their prime focus, Prakash asserted, while adding that the party's prospects in Karnataka is very strong.

Party sources say that the rebellion may not have much of an impact. "We are focusing on 7 seats where the rebellion is quite strong. We will eventually overcome it and this remains a focus as the BJP is not looking at attaining just a simple majority this time," the source added.

To win the Karnataka battle, any party would have to win a simple majority of 113 seats in the 224-member House.