BJP aims to form govt in Karnataka in 2028, says Harish Dwivedi

Bengaluru: The BJP will work collectively with the resolve and goal of forming the party's government once again in Karnataka in 2028, said BJP Karnataka in-charge and National General Secretary Harish Dwivedi on Tuesday.

Speaking to the media, Dwivedi criticised the Congress government, alleging that over the past three-and-a-half years it had neglected the problems of ordinary people, apart from being involved in corruption. He claimed that people were aware of how Congress leaders, MLAs, MPs and ministers were allegedly looting the state.

He also criticised the recent increase in milk and curd prices, saying the milk price had been hiked substantially by around Rs 8 per litre, and the curd price had also been increased.

Dwivedi alleged that Congress was not concerned about the interests of ordinary people and was focused only on the welfare of its leaders and protecting the interests of the Gandhi family. The BJP would take up all issues concerning public welfare and reach out to people in the coming days, he said.

Stating that the party had appointed him as Karnataka in-charge and that this was his first visit to the state in that capacity, Dwivedi said he had participated in meetings of state office-bearers and the party's core committee along with state president B.Y. Vijayendra on Monday.

Describing them as introductory meetings, he said discussions were held on understanding the party's organisational structure and taking steps to make the organisation more active.

Dwivedi said he had met senior BJP leader, former Chief Minister and party Parliamentary Board member B.S. Yediyurappa on Tuesday and received his guidance.

Under Yediyurappa's leadership, the BJP had worked effectively in Karnataka both as a ruling party and as an opposition party for several years, he said. They had discussed how to free people from what he termed the Congress government's misrule in the state through collective efforts in the coming days.

Responding to a question on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Dwivedi said the exercise was not being conducted only during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tenure. SIR had been carried out periodically from the time of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to Indira Gandhi, he said.

Explaining the purpose of the exercise, he said names of deceased voters were removed from electoral rolls, while changes in voters' residences and duplicate entries in different places were corrected. SIR was intended to clean up electoral rolls, he said.

Dwivedi alleged that whenever the Congress lost elections, instead of introspecting, it blamed the Election Commission, Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and the Supreme Court. He accused the party of failing to respect constitutional institutions and alleged that it considered the Gandhi family to be supreme.

He said voters had taken note of the Congress's conduct and pointed to the recent victories of BJP-NDA candidates in all four Karnataka Legislative Council seats. The victories by a huge margin, backed by voters, teachers and graduates, had sent a clear message, he said.

Asked whether the BJP-JD(S) alliance would continue, Dwivedi said the alliance was currently in place and progressing well. However, decisions on the alliance would be taken by the party's senior leadership, and he was not authorised to make any announcement on the matter.

Responding to another question, he said B.Y. Vijayendra was the BJP's state president and that party leaders were working together under his leadership. Describing Vijayendra as a young leader, he said the party organisation was moving forward under his guidance.

State BJP president B.Y. Vijayendra, MP Govind Karjol and other leaders were present.

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