Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai '100% confident' in BJP’s victory

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai is “100% confident” that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be winning the Karnataka Assembly elections with a comfortable majority and return to power.

In a statement made to ANI, the Karnataka CM also struck back at corruption accusations aimed at the BJP, pointing towards the 60 filed cases against the former CM and others.

“Congress track record about corruption - a lot of people are out on bail. There are corruption charges and more than 60 cases have been filed with Lokayukta against former CM and others. What do they talk about corruption?” the CM said.

The CM’s comments come in response to a statement made by Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar where the latter asked the youth of Karnataka to vote for change after seeing the soaring prices and corruption plaguing the state.  

“...Today young voters have a great opportunity...They will vote for a change...They know about the price rise & corruption in the state. I am sure they will go for a change and give us 141 seats. I am confident that Congress party will form the Govt,” Shivakumar said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, too, took shots at the opposition mocking their handling of inflation and their proposed ban on the Bajrang Dal, which was mentioned in the Congress Manifesto

"It is not a debatable question. I have already said on so many occasions that banning of any org, if it is against the Constitution, the power is vested in the Union Govt & not the State Govt," Congress candidate Jagadish Shettar said in response.

Polling is now underway in the state of Karnataka with near 2,615 candidates participating. The recorded voter turnout of 8.03 per cent has been recorded till 9.30 am, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Infosys founder Narayana Murthy being some of the early voters.

The fate of Karnataka’s political landscape lies in the hands of its five crore population. The voting persists through today, with the counting taking place three days later on the 13th of May.

Also read: Karnataka Elections 2023 LIVE Updates: Basavaraj Bommai says BJP to come back with comfortable majority