There is no need for the BJP to enter into a post-poll alliance as the party will get a clear mandate in Karnataka elections, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai told News18 in an exclusive interview. On his own political future post Karnataka election results on May 13, Bommai said the party would “take care" of him.
“The Congress-JDS post-poll alliance has already been talked of. They did it the last time and are trying to do it again. But neither will get any numbers," he said.
Asked if the BJP is willing to sit in Opposition if the party fails to reach the magic mark of 113 seats in the 224-member Karnataka Assembly, Bommai said the situation will not arise. “People will give us a clear mandate. Since we are very confident, that question is not on our table," he said.
The BJP has not formally declared a chief ministerial face in Karnataka elections 2023 has maintained it is fighting the polls under the state leadership of former BS Yediyurappa, its most prominent Lingayat face, and Bommai.
Bommai is seeking re-election from Shiggaon in Haveri district for a fourth consecutive term. The Congress has not been able to win the seat, once considered its stronghold, since 1999. The JD(S) and independent candidates won from here in 1999 and 2004, respectively.
Bommai first contested Assembly elections in 2008 as a BJP candidate, after quitting Janata Dal (United). Shiggaon has a sizeable Muslim population, and the Congress has fielded Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan from the constituency, while Shashidhar Yeligar is the JD(S) candidate.
With the exit of prominent Lingayat faces like Jagadish Shettar and Laxman Savadi, who joined the Congress, Lingayat leaders in the BJP have raised the pitch for unleashing the “Lingayat CM" campaign in Karnataka elections to counter the Congress’ narrative to brand the ruling party as “anti-Lingayat".
The politically influential Lingayat community forms about 17% of the state’s population, mostly in northern parts which the BJP counts as its strong vote-base.
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