BJP pushes in K'taka leaders

Leaving no stone unturned, the BJP has pushed  in leaders from Karnataka —Union minister Ananth Kumar, and former chief minister and state unit president B S Yeddyurappa — for campaigning in Goa.

There are about 4 lakh Kannadigas, around 1/4th of Goa’s population, and the BJP wants Ananth Kumar and Yeddyurappa to spread the message that their concerns will be met if the party retains power in the state.

The leaders held a series of meetings in Vasco and Panaji as the BJP turned the battle into a multi-cornered contest where the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch of rebel RSS functionary Subhash Velingkar have turned against them.

Addressing a meeting at Manger Hill in Vasco, Ananth Kumar took a dig at the Congress, saying that it stood for “jail and bail”. Congress leader Churchill Alemao was behind the bars while Digambar Kamat is out on bail in the Louis Berger scam.

Ananth Kumar invoked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seek a one-sided verdict for the BJP on the lines of the 2014 Lok Sabha verdict.

The BJP had won both the Lok Sabha seats, with sitting MP Shripad Naik retaining North Goa by defeating Congress’s Ravi Naik and Narendra Sawaikar defeating Congress’s Aleixo Lourenco Reginaldo from South Goa.

During the meeting, Yeddyurappa promised that he will take up issues affecting them with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who could come back as chief minister if the party holds on to power.

Kannadigas are present mainly in Vasco, Santa Cruz and Ponda, and are perhaps the most sizeable among the immigrants who came into the coastal state, Union Minister of State Shripad Naik told DH.
DH News Service