Ahead of the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections, former Chief Minister and senior BJP leader BS Yediyurappa on Sunday said that only the 'Modi wave' alone would not help the party bag seats in the state while stressing the need for a collective fight to win the polls.
While speaking to reporters after the party's state executive meeting here today, Yediyurappa said, "'Modi wave' alone doesn't help to win Vidhan Sabha seats in Karnataka. It is necessary to win the elections collectively. Centre and state leaders need to put a collective fight to win more than 140 seats in the state. When it comes to Vidhan Sabha elections, the role of regional leaders must be more."
He further alleged that Congress is trying to contact BJP MLAs in an attempt to influence them to join their party.
"Some of the leaders met me and informed me that some of the Congress leaders were trying to catch hold of them and tried to contact them ahead of upcoming elections in Karnataka in 2023. But that is not going to happen. Our MLAs will not go to Congress. Our leaders and MLAs are intact with BJP," said the former Karnataka Chief Minister.
Earlier in after a meeting, Yediyurappa had said that he will travel across Karnataka and make sure that the BJP wins 140 seats and the Congress remains seated in the Opposition.
On July 26 this year, Yediyurappa, tendered his resignation as Karnataka Chief Minister, ending weeks of speculation over his continuance on the post. Following Yediyurappa's resignation, Basavaraj Bommai was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Karnataka on July 28.
In the 2018 Assembly elections, Congress bagged 78 and formed the government with Janata Dal (Secular), which won 37 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party secured 104 seats in 224-member Karnataka Assembly.
In 2019, 16 Congress and JD(S) MLAs tendered their resignations that resulted in the fall of the HD Kumaraswamy-led coalition government on July 23, 2019. The government lost the trust vote after 105 MLAs voted against it. Later, BJP's Yediyurappa took over as the chief minister.
( With inputs from ANI )
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