Will form government in K'taka within 24 hours if we win 22 LS seats: Yeddyurappa

Karnataka's BJP unit president BS Yeddyurappa has claimed that they will form the government in the state within 24 hours if his party wins 22 seats in the Lok Sabha elections.

Addressing a public meeting at Yaragatti village on Sunday, Yeddyurappa said, "If the people of Karnataka give us 22 seats in the coming Lok Sabha elections, we will form the government in Karnataka within 24 hours."

There are 28 Lok Sabha seats at stake in Karnataka, out of which the BJP currently holds 16 seats while the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) hold 10 and 2 Lok Sabha seats, respectively.

Recently, the former chief minister had said that the pre-emptive air strike carried out by the Indian Air Force targetting terror launch pads in Pakistan's Balakot on February 26 would help the BJP win 22 seats in Karnataka in the impending elections.

"The recent act of armed forces attacking Pakistan has turned the tide in Narendra Modi's favour, as the youth is happy after the attack. It will help us win 22 seats in Karnataka," he had told reporters in Chitradurga on February 28.

Yeddyurappa, who was sworn in as the chief minister soon after elections in May 2018, had to resign as the BJP was short of the majority mark of 111 in the state assembly.

In the Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections held last year, the BJP had won 104 seats, while the JD(S) won on 37 seats and the Congress on 80 seats.