"There is pro-incumbency for BJP in Karnataka...Congress will be wiped out", BJP general secretary Arun Singh

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], April 13 : Bharatiya Janata Party national general secretary Arun Singh on Thursday, said that there is a wave of pro-incumbency regarding the party in the state of Karnataka, and it will register a historic victory in the upcoming assembly elections.
Speaking to ANI, Arun Singh said, "The most important thing is that out of the 212 candidates announced, 66 are new faces. While we have also respected the old party workers, we have also given opportunities to new faces. It clearly gives the impression that BJP is the party with a difference which gives opportunity to fresh faces".
"There is a lot of enthusiasm regarding our list. This will also reflect in our performance, and we will form the government with full majority," he added.
On being asked if there is any anti-incumbency in the state regarding BJP, Arun Singh said that there is great enthusiasm and indeed a wave of "pro-incumbency" among the public.
"This is a misconception. There is no anti-incumbency either against the government or against the MLAs. The government has worked for the people. 'Raitha Vidya Nidhi' is benefiting 11 lakh farmers. Money has been sent to the bank accounts of 52 lakh farmers. Other schemes like PM Awas Yojana are also in place. So, there is actually a pro-incumbency. The pride of Karnataka has increased under the BJP. It is number one in innovation, it is receiving the highest FDI, the whole business sentiment is in favour of Karnataka," he further said.
Talking about the 'resentment' in the party regarding ticket distribution, and a round of resignations by party members, the BJP general secretary said that eventually, everyone in the party will come together to fight the elections.
"Not everyone can get an election ticket. Naturally, this causes pain to them. But BJP members work for an ideology with the sentiment of nation first. So, even those who are unhappy will come together. Every member of the party will unite and work together under the leadership of PM Modi," he said.
He said that BJP has increased the reservation of different communities to ensure social justice in the elections.
"If there's any political party that does social engineering and social justice, it is the BJP. Our government increased the SC reservation from 15 to 17 per cent, and that of ST from 3 to 7 per cent. We also served justice in the state by scraping the unconstitutional 4 per cent quota to Muslims and distributing 2 per cent more quota to each Vokkaligas and Lingayat. At the same time, Congress is promising of giving the 4 per cent back to Muslims, by taking the rights of other communities. The people of Karnataka will never accept this," the BJP leader added.
Talking about the Congress party's chances in the upcoming elections, Arun Singh said that the party is divided into three factions and will badly lose the polls.
"Congress is divided into three factions - Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar and Mallikarjun Kharge. There will be a pitched battle in Congress when election seats are announced, and Congress will be completely wiped out. In the last election, Kharge got very less votes. This time, V Somanna, who is against him is very popular in the Varuna constituency and it's certain that Siddaramaiah will lose. R Ashok, who is fighting against DK Shivakumar will also defeat him," he said.
On being asked about the recent controversy between the dairy brands 'Nandini' and 'Amul', the BJP leader accused Congress of doing "dirty politics" in the matter.
"Congress is doing dirty politics. Nandini is a big company. I would like to assure you that the brand Nandini will prosper more in Karnataka. Its sales are continuously increasing. We all are in support of this brand. Congress does politics on such small issues," he added.