Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLC CP Yogeshwar stirred a political slugfest after audio clips in which he is allegedly heard saying that the party will form the government through “Operation Lotus” before the upcoming Assembly elections went viral on social media.
In one of the three audio clips, the man alleged to be Yogeshwar is heard saying, “In my opinion, The BJP will form the government, but not with the people’s mandate. Mangoes are not ripe by themselves. Chemical should be put, and we will add it.” HT can verify the authenticity of the audio.
The audio, linked to Yogeshwar, also stated that there would be developments after Sankranti, and “big leaders” from the Mysuru, Mandya and Kolar regions will join the BJP. He also predicted a poor performance from the Janata Dal (Secular) or JD (S) in the upcoming elections and that the party will lose 19 seats this time.
“We don’t want to earn a bad name by poaching after elections. So, before the elections, there will be a lot of developments after Sankranti. A big leader will join BJP from the Mysuru region. If we get 2,000-3,000 votes in 4-5 constituencies because of him, that’s enough. A big leader from Kolar and Mandya will also join us,” he is heard saying.
“KH Muniyappa (Congress leader) is ready to join us. There is no clarity yet. Operation Kamala will not be done after the elections. This time, Operation Kamala will be done before the elections,” the man said, according to the audio.
Further, he said, “I will contest against Kumaraswamy. Let R Ashok contest against DK Shivakumar and Ashwath Narayan against Nikhil Kumaraswamy. I will make a list and tell you. BJP will come to power. We will do this in February.”
Yogeshwar is also purportedly heard saying that Union home minister Amit Shah has warned party leaders against adjustment politics.
“Amit Shah has said there should be no compromise with other parties. He held a three-hour-long meeting with around 30 BJP leaders and told them that he was aware of those who had an understanding with other parties,” the audio stated.
Meanwhile, Yogeshwar has denied it is his voice and alleged that the clip was fake. “That’s not my audio. Someone has circulated fake audio clips. BJP will come to power on its own. I have confidence,” he told reporters on Saturday.
Reacting to the audio clips, Karnataka Congress, in a series of tweets, slammed the BJP and said that the saffron party is aware that it won’t come to power and is counting its last days.
“The fate of the BJP government in the state is in the hands of BJP leaders. They also know the fact that the corrupt BJP government has no referendum and will never come to power again. The double engine government is counting its last days,” it tweeted.
“BJP leaders know the true behaviour of the imaginary ‘Election Chanakya’. Rowdy behaviour is normal for those who were imprisoned in criminal cases. When leaders themselves are rowdies, it is normal that rowdies join the party,” the Congress said.
“There is no mandate for the corrupt BJP government. They cannot win on their strength. BJP is the only party in the world that shamelessly claims to rule through Operation Kamala,” it added.
