Karnataka BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa Friday exuded confidence that his party will win 22 of the state's 28 Lok Sabha seats, and claimed the "differences" between ruling Congress and JD(S) would reach its peak after the results and may lead to the fall of the government.
The 76-year-old leader also said he was not worried about the party "neglecting" him, after stalwarts such as LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Sumitra Mahajan were denied tickets, and vowed to work for the growth of the BJP regardless of being given any position or not.
"I'm a responsible karyakarta of a national party. Whatever party leadership decides, I will abide by it. I have worked for the party as a common karyakarta for the last 40 years, without any position for the most part of it....in the days to come whether any position is given or not, I will continue to work for party," he said.
On state senior BJP leader K S Eshwarappa's comments that the BJP would not give tickets to Muslims as the minority community did not believe in the party, Yeddyurappa said, "We are not confident of fielding and ensuring victory of a Muslim candidate as of today."
He claimed there was a "BJP wave" in Karnataka and the party would win 22 of the state's 28 Lok Sabha seats. "In my opinion, compared to 2014, we will gain 14-15 per cent more votes this time."
On BJP not fielding a candidate in Mandya, Yeddyurappa said Sumalatha Ambareesh, who is an independent, asked for support. "So without fielding a candidate, we have given unconditional support."
"We are confident that he will win with a margin of over 2 lakh votes."
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