Playing down the impact of Congress’s win in the Karnataka assembly elections on other states, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) didn’t make so much noise even after winning elections in many states. Sarma was in Telangana’s Karimnagar to participate in ‘Hindu Ekta Yatra’ organised by state BJP chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar.
When asked about the impact of Congress’s win in Karnataka on neighbouring Telangana, where assembly elections are due late this year, Sarma said, “Sachin Tendulkar frequently scored double centuries but sometimes he also got out on zero. They (Congress) won in just one state and are making so much noise about it. We have won in several states but we never made a big deal about it.”
Sarma participated in the Hindu Ekta Yatra, held on the occasion of Telugu Hanuman Jayanti, as chief guest. Apart from Sarma, the director of the controversial movie ‘The Kerala Story’, other crew members and around one lakh people were expected to participate in the yatra, according to the state BJP.
“The purpose of Hindu Ekta Yatra is to highlight the injustices meted out to Hindus of Telangana under Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Government, which is in collusion with All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AMIM) and with this attitude; State has become safe shelter to Islamic Extremists,” Bandi Sanjay told news agency ANI.
Congress, meanwhile, is holding a legislature party meeting in Bengaluru to decide the next chief minister, with former CM Siddaramaiah and party’s state unit chief DK Shivakumar having thrown their hats in the ring. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has said the AICC observers will convey the opinion of the party’s MLAs to the high command which will then take a final decision. He also asserted that everything has gone smoothly for the party in the assembly polls and the government will be formed as soon as possible.
