If Gowda contests from Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah camp will throw him out: R Ashoka, BJP leader

Senior BJP leader R Ashoka is leading the campaign charge for the Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka, and is playing a key role in candidate selection. ET’s KR Balasubramanyam and Indulekha Aravind caught up with him on Wednesday to understand BJP’s poll strategies. Edited excerpts:
How many rallies will PM Narendra Modi address in Karnataka?
The PM has done rallies in Hubballi and Kalaburagi, and we found a strong Modi wave as the response was better than our expectations. We will plan the next round of rallies region-wise: Modi has addressed one rally each in Mumbai-Karnataka and Hyderabad-Karnataka regions, now we need to plan rallies in central Karnataka (Davanagere), Old Mysuru region (Bengaluru and Mysuru) and coastal Karnataka.

Will UP CM Yogi Adityanath campaign here as he did during Assembly polls last year?
He is campaigning this time too. In fact, he will be our star campaigner. As a monk, he represents the Nath tradition and his (Gorakhnath) Mutt has close links with our Adichunchanagiri Mutt in Karnataka. He is going to be a powerful campaigner for us.

Will the BJP try out new faces this time?
Modi and Amit Shah have evaluated the performance of Lok Sabha members and will take the call on the final candidate selection. We are thinking of new faces, especially in the Old Mysuru region. (Actor) Sumalatha has met me twice, and we are in discussion with her too for the Mandya seat.

If Deve Gowda decides to contest from Bengaluru North, will you change your strategy?
As you know, Deve Gowda is fickle. No one is sure where he will eventually contest from. My own take is he will not contest from Bengaluru North because the constituency has quite a few Congress MLAs, and they are all right-hand men of Siddaramaiah. They will not work for Gowda; instead, they will throw him out. Siddaramaiah lost because of Deve Gowda in Chamundeshwari, and Siddaramaiah will take revenge if Gowda were to contest in Bengaluru.

In city, how many seats will you win?
I have met all MLAs of Bengaluru South, and we will win all three seats in the city.

There are rumours that Rohini Nilekani will contest as a Congress candidate from Bengaluru South...
Nilekani will not contest. I know the family. Am 100% sure about it.

How many seats do you hope to win in Karnataka?
Last time, we won 17 seats, and then we went to voters with Modi as our PM candidate. This time we are approaching voters with Modi as our PM. We will highlight his development programmes. That should help us to win 22 seats.

What are the BJP’s prospects in Mallikarjun Kharge’s seat, Kalaburagi?
More than half the Congressmen will come out in support of our candidate Dr Umesh Jadhav. Local Congress leaders are unhappy that Mallikarjun Kharge promoted his son, Priyank, though there were other seniors who worked for Kharge for the past four decades. Other Congress MLAs in the region are unhappy that none of them was considered for a ministerial position.

In coastal Karnataka, will you focus on the old communal issue?
Chief minister HD Kumaraswamy is continuing to do what his predecessor Siddaramaiah did to Hindus. They are the victims of violence. We will highlight it. As for winning, we are sure to retain all the three seats in coastal Karnataka.

Which is the toughest seat for the BJP?
Mandya is definitely going to be a highprofile seat for both media and the people because the CM’s son is contesting as a JD(S) candidate. He will be fighting Sumalatha Ambareesh, whose husband, the late Ambareesh, resigned his Union minister’s post over the Cauvery issue. No other leader did that kind of sacrifice for Cauvery water.

Are you in touch with disgruntled Congress MLAs?
We are in touch with everyone we think will be of help to the victory of BJP candidates.