Refusing to back down from his attacks against the BJP, former chief minister and KJP President B S Yeddyurappa on Thursday claimed that the decline of the BJP in the State has begun and predicted that the party would perform more badly in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Addressing a convention attended by KJP candidates who contested the May 5 Assembly polls, Yeddyurappa said the KJP’s 10 per cent vote share in the Assembly polls was “significant” for a regional party launched only five months ago.
“We might have secured only six seats but the fact remains that the BJP and the JD(S) secured 60 lakh votes each, while the KJP bagged 30 lakh votes. This indicates that the KJP has gained significant electoral ground in a limited period,” he said.
Yeddyurappa also pointed out that the BJP had lost its traditional sources of votes to the KJP in several pockets and that the trend would continue in the Lok Sabha polls.
Division of votes
“The Congress did not gain a majority in the elections because of its strength,” Yeddyurappa claimed. “Instead, the division of votes helped them win at least 23 additional seats. These factors indicate that the KJP stands a chance of bagging a good number of seats in the Lok Sabha polls. “The party was received well by the people. But now we have to convert the support into votes.”
The former chief minister said he would work towards strengthening the KJP in the coming weeks and would also start the process of shortlisting candidates for the Lok Sabha polls.
The meeting was attended by the six winning candidates of the KJP, and several losing candidates, including B P Harish, M P Renukacharya and C M Udasi. Yeddyurappa’s trusted lieutenant Shobha Karandlaje was not present. Party sources said Karandlaje was away on personal work.
