Rahul's charm will not spell magic in Karnataka Polls: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Bengaluru: NDA Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar today said AICC president Rahul Gandhi’s charm would not spell magic in next year’s Karnataka assembly polls and Congress would taste defeat as it did it in Gujarat polls for playing caste politics. “Rahul Gandhi’s charm will not spell any magic in Karnataka elections next year.Congress will face defeat just as it did in Gujarat polls for playing caste politics,” he told PTI here. 

Gandhi’s elevation as party president has not brought about a resurgence in Congress. His elevation has only brought about yet another drubbing in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh polls, he said. However, it is a wakeup call for the BJP in Gujarat and the newly-elect government would address the issues that dented the hopes of winning seats as expected, Chandrasekhar, an industrialist, said. 

The BJP had expected to win 150 seats, but won 99 seats in the 182-member Assembly as against 77 seats by Congress. Congress and Patidars had struck a deal in Gujarat polls amidst demands for granting reservation quotas to the Patidars, who form 12-14 per cent of the states population. 

Chandrasekhar alleged that Congress always played divisive politics in the name of caste and religion. Siddaramaiah’s government in Karnataka was no exception, he said.  “Just consider the issue of separate religious status for Lingayats. This has brewed tension in the society.  This simply is an attempt by Siddaramaiah-led Congress government to divide Lingayat community for electoral gains,” he said. 

The government was also playing politics in the name of religion by celebrating ‘Tipu Jayanti’, which has fomented communal tension in coastal and Kodagu regions of the state, Chandrasekhar said.