Union Home Minister Amit Shah claimed that the state would be “afflicted by riots” if Congress came to power in Karnataka. Speaking at a public meeting in Terdal in Belagavi district on Tuesday, April 25, Shah said that Congress winning the Assembly elections would lead to an all-time high in dynastic politics and the development would be in "reverse gear."
Shah called for "political stability" in Karnataka, urging voters to choose the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for a "new Karnataka." He added that if the Congress were to come to power, corruption would be at an all-time high, and the party would indulge in appeasement politics.
“Voting for the Congress will be useless. It will lead to communal violence and riots across the state. It will lead to large-scale corruption, and there will not be any development,” Shah said in his address.
The Home Minister, a key strategist and campaigner for the BJP, is on a two-day tour of Karnataka to hold a series of public meetings, roadshows, and review meetings with his party leaders. Shah also expressed confidence that the Congress would not benefit from the recent defections of former BJP leaders Jagadish Shettar and Laxman Savadi to the Mallikarjun Kharge-led party.
In his speech, Shah accused the Congress of insulting the Lingayat community and claimed that during its long rule in the state, the party could only provide two Lingayat Chief Ministers, S Nijalingappa and Veerendra Patil, both of whom were humiliated and sacked from the party. He further stated that if the Congress were to win the elections, dynastic politics would be at an all-time high in Karnataka, and riots would be prevalent
The Karnataka Assembly elections are scheduled to take place on May 10, and the BJP and Congress are in a fierce battle to gain power.