Congress will win Karnataka like it did Himachal: HP CM

Maqsood Maniyar | NT

Bengaluru: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has said that he could see similarities between the Assembly elections of Karnataka and those of his home state held last year.

He claimed that in both states, the incumbent BJP was in trouble because of livelihood and governance issues, adding that Congress provided a viable and winning alternative. The CM made the remarks during his visit to Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) in Bengaluru where he urged people to vote for the Grand Old Party come May 10 polling day.

“The biggest issue here is providing employment to the youth, who are suffering due to a dearth of jobs. The Karnataka government hasn’t put in place any policy to generate employment for the youth, who are angry.

This is especially so with the rural youth, who haven’t even sniffed jobs. This is why I believe the youth and citizens stricken with price rise will vote for a change,” Sukhu said. “People are inclined towards the Congress now. I think Congress will win a comfortable majority this time around,” he added. Sukhu said that he could see initiatives like allowances for women, which his own State government implemented also working in Karnataka.

He was referring to one of the “guarantees” of the Congress, namely the Gruha Lakshmi Yojane, which promised to provide the “woman head of every household” Rs 2,000 monthly via direct bank transfer. He also lent credence to the demand for the implementation of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), which he did in his own state.

When told about the observation that Congress retained dynamic leadership in states like Himachal and Karnataka but performed poorly in general elections, he disagreed, claiming that BJP had gutted their leadership in Karnataka. “They (BJP) have no leadership in Karnataka. They had Mr Yediyurappa, whom they’ve sent home,” Sukhu said, adding that the May 10 Assembly elections wouldn’t be about Prime Minister Narendra Modi.