BJP has lost face in Karnataka: Siddaramaiah

Siddaramaiah endorsed BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi's statement that there was no Modi wave in the country.

"Initially, there was a Modi wave but it appears that at present the BJP has disowned 'Modi wave' as it was refleted in Murli Manohar Joshi's statement. Joshi is a senior leader and his words carry weight," he said.

Also endorsing Joshi's remarks on the Gujarat model of development, he said Gujarat is not the number one industrial state, instead it is Maharashtra. "Karnataka is in second place and Gujarat third," he added.

There is 38 per cent poverty in Gujarat which is more compared to Karnataka and 60 per cent dropouts registered in educational institutions there, he said. "Gujarat is number one in malnutrtion," he said.

Joshi, who headed the BJP manifesto committee, had suggested that the Gujarat model of development touted by Modi cannot be made applicable for all states, observing he did not favour a "straitjacket" model of one particular state.

On Modi's marital status, Siddaramaiah sought an explanation from the Gujarat Chief Minister for not mentioning it in previous elections and said suppression of facts in the affidavit was an offence.

"Why did he tell a lie all these years about his marital status? This act shows that RSS and BJP are good at turning lies into truth," he said.

Keeping in mind the May Assembly poll results last year in which Congress won 122 seats, he said the party is expects to win at least 18 to 20 Lok Sabha seats in the state."We are leading 22 Lok Sabha constituencies as per our survey.