The BJP might have given less tickets to women in the forthcoming assembly elections but the party seems to have made amends by making general secretary and Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP, Shobha Karandlaje the election management committee head. Amid her hectic schedule, Ms Karandlaje sat with Deccan Chronicle to explain her views on the elections. Here are excerpts from her interview.
You are the chief of the Karnataka BJP election management committee. How do you feel?
No, I am doing only the co-ordination work. In fact, Prakash Javadekarji and Muralidhar Raoji guide us.
How different were the preparations this time compared to the earlier elections?
We did not give so much emphasis and importance to setting up of booth committees in the past as we did this time. Our national president Amit Shahji was very particular about this. In the booth committees, we identified people of different castes, made caste-wise groups and brought in many defeated gram panchayat members. Then Mr Shah also introduced Panna Pramukh system under which we select a voter as head from among the voters in a particular page of the voters list. His responsibility is to get voters enlisted on that page, to the polling booths. We never did this in the state in the past. He stressed on meetings of booth committees too.
You have rebels in over 30 constituencies. Will it not be a big problem for you?
I don't think we have 30 rebels. In 16 constituencies, we had rebels. They have been suspended. Some of the rebels had joined JD (S) and became candidates. We tried to assuage the feelings of many who could not get tickets. Those who remained in the fray were suspended. After the suspension, our workers stopped going with the rebel candidates. Even the Congress party has rebels. Those who were 'neutralised' in this manner, may work for your rivals on polling day..
Those who are in the fray are seeking voters as independents. And we also treat these candidates as our rivals in the same way we treat the Congress or JD (S) candidates. We tell our workers to educate voters on these aspects.
But when rebels like Somanna Bevinmarad, a hard core RSS and BJP man remain in the fray, won't he eat into your votes causing problems for your party candidate?
No, not really. Those who want to vote for the BJP will see the face of B.S. Yeddyurappa and exercise their franchise. But both our voters and workers are clear in their mind that backing rebels means depriving Mr Yeddyurappa of a chance to become chief minister. So, rebels will not dent our prospects.
The Congress party campaign has focused on the BJP's tainted leaders saying their return to power will cause damage to the state. Will this not hurt your prospects in the elections?
Some mistakes had happened on our side between 2008 and 2013. Those involved are either been punished or are not with us. The court has dismissed many cases. The party has already been punished by the people for these mistakes in 2013, so, I do not think people will vote in the same way. The CM(Siddaramaiah) was not confident of fighting the election on the basis of his performance. That's why, he is dividing society and making false allegations against us. He has run away from Varuna to Chamundeshwari to Badami. This is precisely why the Congress party entered into an understanding with SDPI in Narasimharaja and Bantwal constituencies. It is the Congress is which is worried, not us.
The campaign has crossed the lines of decency with both parties indulging in mudslinging..
We have not done anything. It is Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who has crossed the Laxman Rekha. He is not speaking about developmental works. Just to elicit a strong reaction from the public, he indulges in mudslinging wherever he goes. We have so many issues like corruption and blunders committed by the government. I would like to ask the CM only one question: can you win the polls on a development agenda? If yes, then why did you try to divide society? Why did you run from one constituency to the other? Does it not show you are worried about your own victory, forget about the Congress party coming to power?
Your party is not lagging behind on this front...
We have not crossed the line. Of course, when they attacked us, we had to react and we did that.
Your manifesto was released just five days back. Was it a clever strategy or was it actually delayed?
Yes, the late release was part of our strategy. This is a vision document of our party for five years. We promised only those programmes that we could implement in five years.
Assuming that coastal, central and Mumbai Karnataka will back your candidates this time again, what is your assessment of Hyderabad-Karnataka, Bengaluru and old-Mysuru regions?
Mark my words, Hyderabad-Karnataka will contribute a large number of seats this time. Bengaluru, I think will vote against the Congress. Yes, we have problems in old-Mysuru region and in districts like Mandya, we have issues. Here, the smaller or regional parties may benefit. We will sweep the state and form the government on our own.
