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Karnataka should not lose out on blessings of PM Modi, says BJP president JP Nadda

Nadda's comments have come under severe fire, with the Opposition construing them as threats to voters ahead of the Karnataka Assembly polls.

South First Desk

Published Apr 19, 2023 | 11:43 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 20, 2023 | 2:42 AM

BJP president JP Nadda addresses party cadres during inauguration of new party offices in both Telugu states. (Twitter)

BJP president JP Nadda addresses party cadres during a party event. File Photo (Twitter)

When Narendra Modi assumed office as prime minister in 2014, he called himself “pradhan sevak” (primary servant) of the people of India. Cut to 2023, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president JP Nadda seemingly believes that states like Karnataka need Modi’s “blessings”.

Modi may be delivering one speech after another about “competitive, cooperative federalism”, but Nadda, during his speech on Wednesday, 19 April, gave complete credit to Modi’s “blessings” for the development in Karnataka.

He also asked voters of the state to choose the BJP if they didn’t want to “lose out on Modi’s blessings”.

The BJP national president’s comments came under severe fire by Opposition parties and civil society members in Karnataka alike for the purported insinuation.

Also read: Nadda launches Vijaya Sankalpa Ratha Yatre in Karnataka

Remarks and reaction

Addressing a public rally in Haveri on Wednesday after a roadshow ahead of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s nomination filing, Nadda urged voters to give Bommai five more years in power.

Everything he said was typical of a poll campaign speech. Everything except when he urged the people of Karnataka not to lose out on the “blessings” of Modi.

“I have not come here to just seek votes for Bommai but I have come to ask you to vote for the lotus (the BJP’s election symbol) so the river of development continues to flow in Karnataka. I appeal to you to vote for the BJP so that Karnataka does not lose out on Modiji’s blessings,” Nadda told the gathering.

By Wednesday evening, the Congress claimed Nadda’s comments were “an attack on democracy” and “threats to the people of Karnataka”.

Several other netizens from Karnataka and even outside it also sought to know what the BJP national president meant by the word “blessing” to define the relationship between the prime minister and voters in a democracy.

Others asked if the Central government would treat Karnataka differently based on the electoral outcomes of the 10 May Assembly polls.

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