Amit Shah

She said this while responding to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's statement that if the BJP is not re-elected to power, the state would not get the blessings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Congress leader addressed a huge public meeting here. Sonia Gandhi said that the BJP was worried and perturbed over the.

Addressing a large gathering in Saundatti town in Belagavi district, Shah said that in the 2018, people gave 11 seats to the BJP. "Had you given all the 18 seats to the BJP, there wouldn't have been a JD (S)-Congress coalition government in Karnataka," he said. The BJP increased its tally in the district to 13 through Ooperation Lotus after senior leaders Ramesh Jarkiholi and Mahesh Kumatalli got elected in the by-polls.

Addressing a public rally here, Shah said, "Sonia Gandhi had called Modi 'Maut Ka Saudagar'. Rahul Gandhi calls him a lower caste man. But no matter how much you humiliate the Prime Minister, lotus will bloom in Karnataka. More threats to Modi will only create a pro-BJP wave."

Talking to media persons after lodging an FIR against the Union Home Minister, State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar said: "Amit Shah has made baseless allegations that if Congress comes to power, there will be communal strife and violence in the state. There has been an attempt to threaten voters that they should not vote.

EPS will be accompanied by party state organising secretary and former minister D. Jayakumar, former ministers and senior leaders, SP Velumani, KP Muniswamy, C.Ve. Shanmugam and P. Thangamani. The Opposition delegation will be highlighting the corruption charges against the present DMK government and also on the failing law and order situation in the state.

"The pre-poll surveys are always in favour of Congress. They claim that Congress will win and also state that there is going to be intense competition. But after the results are declared, BJP will emerge as the winner," said Shah, who held roadshows and rallies in Yadgir, Bagalkot and Vijayapura districts in the poll-bound state on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters here, Shah maintained that ticket was not denied to Shettar alone, as many others have been denied the same. "We had informed him why he was denied a ticket. The reason can't be discussed with the media," he said. "We will convince the voters in such a way that they will understand. The BJP has a vote bank in the Hubballi-Dharwad Central reagion. The individual is not important, it is the party that is important. Jagadish Shettar is going to lose the elections," he said.

H.D. Deve Gowda hails from Hassan district and the region is considered as a stronghold of Gowda family. BJP managed to win only one seat (Preetham Gowda) making inroads into the family turf of Gowda family. This time, the Deve Gowda family had taken it as a matter of prestige to wrest the only seat held by BJP. A war of words had broken between BJP MLA Preetham Gowda and Gowda family members.

Shah also underlined that if Congress thinks that it can come to power in Karnataka with the induction of former BJP leader Jagadish Shettar into the party, it is thinking of the impossible. "Only Shettar has joined the Congress, not our vote bank or the party workers. BJP will retain power with a thumping majority," Shah said.

It is to be noted that the meeting of AIADMK leader with the BJP leader assumes significance as the two NDA allies have been engaged in a bitter political feud in the past couple of months. The BJP state president and former IPS officer, K. Annamalai had time and again come out against the Dravidan major leading to tough positioning from the AIADMK.