BJP will form government, with pre-poll poaching: Audio clip

BJP lawmaker C P Yogeshwar created ripples after an audio clip in which he is purportedly heard saying that his party "will form the government, but not with the people's mandate" went public on Saturday.

Yogeshwar, a former minister, said it was not his audio. BJP general secretary Mahesh Tenginkai, however, maintained that the saffron unit would come to power on its own without poaching.

"I don't know about it. It's not mine. I have many enemies, so one of them must have done something. I haven't spoken. It's not my audio," Yogeshwar, an MLC, said. Asked if he would initiate legal action, he said: "Such things happen daily. Let me see."

Yogeshwar, who is said to have played a key role in engineering defections to bring down the JD(S)-Congress coalition in 2019, said he wants to contest against former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy from Channapatna.

"If the party gives me the ticket, I will contest."

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In the audio clip being linked to Yogeshwar, a voice is heard discussing political trends ahead of the Assembly elections with a group.

"The BJP will form the government, but not with the people's mandate. While a mango fruit can be taken from a tree, it can also be created chemically," the voice says.

Going by the audio clip, it appears that the BJP has planned an Operation Lotus before elections.

"We don't want to earn the bad name of poaching after elections. So, after Sankranti, there will be developments," the person says, adding that "big leaders" from Mysuru and Mandya will join BJP.

"In Kolar, a big leader who was MP for 7-8 times and a central minister, is ready to join, but our (party) isn't accepting," the voice says. When prompted, the voice concedes that this was a reference to Congress veteran K H Muniyappa.

Also, the JD(S) will lose 19 seats this time, according to the clip.

Tenginkai said the BJP will not need any operation. "We have a big cadre. We aren't in need of any operation. On our own strength, we will win," he said.

'Shah's rowdyism'

"I've agreed to contest against Kumaraswamy. Let (ministers) R Ashoka contest against (KPCC president) D K Shivakumar, C N Ashwath Narayan against Nikhil Kumaraswamy," the voice says. "Amit Shah has a kind of rowdyism. He has warned party leaders against adjustment politics."