Amid rumours of ‘Operation Hasta’ or ‘Reverse Operation Lotus’, as the Karnataka BJP unit makes all attempts to keep its flock together, Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress president DK Shivakumar questioned whether the saffron party was right in toppling elected governments in various states across the country. On Saturday, August 19, in response to a question on rumours of BJP leaders joining Congress, Shivakumar said that Congress was like an ocean.
“If leaders want to build their political career, take a decision towards saving India, they can make their decisions as required. How can anyone stop them? Were they (BJP) right in toppling the elected governments in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra states? You think they were right in doing so?” Shivakumar asked. He further asked, “The leaders will take a decision as per their needs. Do I need to reveal who had come to meet me and what they spoke?”
On BJP staging a protest on August 23 against the KarnatakaCongress government, Shivakumar stated, “We can’t say no to the protest. But, first let them choose a leader and then stage a protest.”
The BJP has convened a meeting of legislators and prominent leaders of the party on Friday night to convey a message of unity at the residence of former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa. In the absence of leadership, Yediyurappa, who was forced to retire from electoral politics, is again being called to the forefront, the party sources said. Two prominent BJP leaders — former minister and BJP MLA ST Somashekar and Bhyrati Basavaraj – skipped the meet, adding fuel to the rumours.
The Congress is aggressively preparing a strategy to win more than 20 seats in 28 parliamentary constituencies in Karnataka, in the 2024 general election. The Congress leadership has reportedly given a green signal to poach leaders from BJP before it recovers from the humiliating defeat in the Assembly elections. The state BJP leadership has come under pressure as the party high command seems to be still upset after their poor performance in the Assembly polls. The strategy of the BJP to rally Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Karnataka and wrestle the election results had flopped.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah makes it a point to often ridicule BJP, saying wherever PM Modi took out rallies and conducted roadshows, Congress candidates won. The Congress has also been using its landslide victory in Karnataka to give a message to the country against the governance of PM Modi.