Siddaramaiah sting row to impact Congress in 2028 polls too: Karnataka BJP

Bengaluru, Nov 4 (SocialNews.XYZ) Senior BJP leader and Leader of Opposition R. Ashoka on Wednesday claimed that the alleged sting operation involving former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had exposed the internal discord within Congress and contributed to the party's defeat in the recent Legislative Council elections.

"Siddaramaiah sting row to impact Congress in 2028 polls too," he underlined.

Ashoka said that senior Congress leader and MLA K.N. Rajanna had himself predicted the adverse impact of the controversy on the party's electoral prospects.

He alleged that the sting operation against Siddaramaiah was orchestrated by disgruntled Congress leaders and claimed that the former Chief Minister's supporters and voters had also turned against the party.

“The impact of this will be seen in the 2028 Assembly elections as well,” Ashoka said.

Launching a sharp attack on Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, the BJP leader blamed the Congress government's alleged internal infighting and its policies for the party's electoral setback.

Ashoka alleged that the government had repeatedly betrayed farmers, withdrawn pensions of vulnerable sections, senior citizens and persons with disabilities, and left several government departments without adequate funds.

He also accused the government of mismanaging the state's finances and said the increase in milk and bus fares had added to the hardships of the people.

“People have realised that this administration is harmful to the state. The Congress will have to pay the price for this poor governance soon,” Ashoka said.

Taking a swipe at the Congress over the ongoing sting operation controversy, Ashoka said that while the party was currently facing a political storm over the issue, the people would “carry out an operation” against the government and throw it out of power during the elections.

After the ruling Congress in Karnataka was defeated on all four seats in the recently held Legislative Council elections, a war of words erupted within the party on Tuesday between supporters of Siddaramaiah and Chief Minister Shivakumar.

In the MLC elections, the NDA took home all four seats, as the BJP bagged three and the JD(S) won one.

Former Minister and Congress MLA, K.N. Rajanna, a close associate of Siddaramaiah, said the controversy surrounding the sting operation had adversely affected the party's image and could have contributed to its poor performance in the MLC elections.

However, Municipal Administration Minister H.C. Balakrishna, a supporter of Shivakumar, accused Rajanna and his son, a Congress MLC, of failing to work for the party's candidates and indulging in anti-party activities. He demanded disciplinary action against them.

Source: IANS