BJP divided over survey, some say it's a wake up call

Bengaluru: The BJP state leadership may be trying to downplay a pre-poll survey conducted by a market research agency, C-fore, giving absolute majority to the ruling Congress in the event of an immediate election, but some of its other leaders see it as a warning to the party ahead of the 2018 Assembly polls.

"We cannot ignore  surveys as they are  a tool of assessing the  mood of the public and its perception of the state government. In  my assessment, people have given a warning  to the BJP, saying that you (party leaders) cannot take us for granted and  rely on the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party national president, Amit Shah," said  party  senior leader and former MLC, G. Madhusudhan.

In a more candid admission, he said the poll survey indicated that people were clearly dissatisfied with the performance of the state BJP. 

"People are unhappy with the party not capitalising on the misdeeds of the state government for the last four years. The party leadership should not look at party state president, B.S.Yeddyurappa, but act independently to contribute to it," he added.

But Mr. Madhusudhan contended that one could not conclude merely by the   survey  that people were extremely happy with the Siddaramaiah  government either. 

"People are fed up with the casteist mentality and corruption of the state government," he insisted.

But Udupi-Chikkamagaluru BJP MP, Shobha Karandlaje claimed the survey was bogus and  done at the behest of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. 

"Sitting in the Chief Minister's office, his media advisor, Dinesh Amin Mattu and others have prepared the report merely to divert  public attention from the  false cases filed against our leader, Yeddyurappa.  But anti-incumbency is high against the Congress government in the state and  we are not worried about the report," she added, declaring that the  BJP would get a clear majority if elections were held immediately based on its surveys.