KJP votes for BJP? Don’t bank on it
Yeddyurappa have completely ignored the potential of disgruntled workers from BSY's KJP in replicating the 2013 polls
By : b. aravinda shetty
Update: 2014-03-21 05:28 GMT
Bengaluru: Is the former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa taking the support of his former colleagues in the Karnataka Janata Paksha for granted? Focusing exclusively on the so-called Narendra Modi wave to get them seats in the upcoming polls, both the state BJP and former CM B.S.
Yeddyurappa have completely ignored the potential of disgruntled workers from BSY's KJP in replicating the 2013 Assembly poll decimation of the BJP in next month's Lok Sabha elections.
It was the staunch followers of former chief minister, B.S.Yeddyurappa - whom he is now accused of deserting - who played a pivotal role in securing the ten percent vote share for the Karnataka Janatha Paksha (KJP) that saw the BJP drop from 110 to 40 seats in the 2013 elections.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, KJP's general secretary, Rajendra Gokhale also revealed that the actual merger of KJP and BJP had not yet taken place, and that KJP MLAs B.R. Patil and Guru Patil were still in the KJP.
"The consent of at least two-thirds of the KJP's district unit is needed for a merger," Mr. Gokhale said, adding that since the KJP state leadership had not taken the actual consent from district units, the "merger" could be challenged before the Speaker.
Mr. Gokhale also pointed out that while, in the last elections, the KJP had obtained ten percent of the vote share, it was doubtful that the same chunk of votes, which accrued to the KJP under different circumstances would shift to the BJP in Lok Sabha polls.
"The issues are different," he remarked. "In the last elections, people who wanted a strong regional outfit supported KJP. Why would this group support a national party," he asked.