K’taka Cong has exposed its weakness by inducting Yogeshwara: BJP MLC

Bengaluru: Karnataka Legislative Council Member and senior BJP leader C.T. Ravi on Wednesday said that by inducting C.P. Yogeshwara into their party, the Congress has essentially admitted that they are weak in the Channapatna Assembly segment.

"Even with 136 MLAs and powerful leaders like Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, the Congress has acknowledged its weakness in Channapatna," Ravi told media persons at the BJP state office, Jagannath Bhavan in Bengaluru.

He added that until recently, Shivakumar was confidently saying he had a candidate there and was making preparations, adding that many people expected his younger brother D.K. Suresh to be the candidate in that constituency.

“Now, with Yogeshwara being given the ticket, we will have to see if they show helplessness or if they plan to make D.K. Suresh the candidate while having Yogeshwara in their party. However, Congress has clearly admitted its weakness in Channapatna," he added.

He said that Yogeshwara is an ambitious politician and has spent a long time opposing the Congress in politics.

“The enmity between D.K. Shivakumar and him is not new. He has entered the tiger’s den. Either he must tame the tiger or fall prey to it," Ravi remarked.

He pointed out that there is a vast difference between BJP’s political thinking and Yogeshwara’s. “He (Yogeshwara) engages in politics on a personal level, always calculating profit and loss in his political career.

“Our politics is based on ideological commitment. There is no room for calculating profit and loss in our approach, and we don’t even entertain such thinking," he added.

He also clarified that after Yogeshwara's resignation, there are no brotherly ties left.

"We will fight in Channapatna as part of the NDA. We discuss first and then come to a decision. About one and a half to two months ago, we had already discussed the situation in Channapatna with Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy. Channapatna is a constituency represented by Kumaraswamy. Unilateral decisions don't work here. Decisions must be made jointly," Ravi said.