Addressing mediapersons here, Advani appealed to the people of Karnataka to give a clear mandate this time, unlike 2004 which had led to a hung Assembly. He also called upon the people to throw out the “opportunist” Congress and “betrayer” JD-S, who he said, had always played with governance and development. 

When Advani’s attention was drawn to the fact that not a single Muslim was given a ticket by the party, he said tickets were distributed on the basis of merit. Advani ignored the question when he was asked why the party could not find a single suitable Muslim candidate.

To a question about prominence given to land developers and real estate agents in the distribution of tickets, Advani said the list sent by the state party unit was unanimous. These allegations are baseless, he added.