No Confusion! The Karnataka Mandate Was Anti-Congress: Amit Shah

“Their seat-share reduced, even Siddaramaiah lost one seat, what is Congress celebrating?” Amit Shah said.

BJP President Amit Shah.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/BJP4India)

Two days after BS Yeddyurappa-led BJP government failed to prove majority in the Karnataka Assembly, the party’s national president Amit Shah hit out at the JD(S)-Congress combine, calling it an ‘unholy alliance’.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Shah claimed that the mandate in Karnataka was ‘anti-Congress’ and lashed out at the party for celebrating ‘a defeat’.

“The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has emerged as the single largest party in Karnataka. This was not a confused mandate, it was anti-Congress. Half of their ministers lost. Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah lost from one seat too. This was undoubtedly an anti-Congress mandate,” Shah said.

The BJP chief reiterated that his party was constitutionally right to stake claim in Karnataka since they were the single-largest party with 104 seats.

If we hadn’t staked claim of the government, then that would have been against the mandate that Karnataka had given.

Amit Shah, BJP President

Citing Congress’ reduction in the number of Assembly seats from 122 to 78, Shah questioned the party for ‘celebrating a loss’. “If Congress sees this as a win, then we will win 2019 Lok Sabha elections easily.”

‘Unholy Alliance’

He even referred to the anti-Congress campaign by Janata Dal (Secular), terming the ruling alliance ‘unholy.’

Congress called the JD(S) ‘Janata Dal Sangh’. The entire campaign by JD(S) was anti-Congress. They won their 38 seats because of the ani-Congress sentiment in Karnataka.

Amit Shah

In his attack, he also claimed that the Congress is suddenly happy with all the institutions they had been decrying. “Now they do not have a problem with the Supreme Court, Election Commission or even Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).”

On Goa and Manipur

When questioned about the BJP forming government through post-poll alliances in Goa and Manipur after a fractured mandate, Amit Shah claimed that Congress were lazy “despite being the single largest party, they had not staked claim, so the Governor invited us.”

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