Venkaiah Naidu asks Cong to hold LS, Assembly poll

Bangalore: BJP on Sunday dared Congress to hold Lok Sabha elections along with Assembly polls due in five states later this year if it was confident after its triumph in Karnataka.

Capitalising on anti-incumbency, Congress unseated the BJP in the May 8 elections to the Karnataka assembly winning 121 seats in the 224-member House. "If the Congress is confident after winning assembly elections in Karnataka, it should conduct simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha and assemblies in five states -- Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Delhi," BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters here. Asked whether there was any chance of BS Yeddyurappa making a comeback to the BJP, Naidu said there was no proposal as such from either side for now. On party veteran LK Advani`s comments in his blog that he was not surprised with BJP`s loss in Karnataka, he said unlike the Congress which had not take action against Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit inspite of Lokayukta report against her, the BJP had acted on the ombudsman`s report on illegal mining in the state (by asking then Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa to step down). "We have taken a principled decision (against Yeddyurappa) based on Lokayukta report (on illegal mining). Inspite of a massive scam, Congress has made Virbhadra Singh as Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister. BJP and Congress have different yardsticks and standards," he argued. Congress had also not taken any action against former chief ministers N Dharam Singh and SM Krishna "despite Lokayukta report mentioning their names," he charged. Naidu said the party did not repent its decision to ask Yeddyurappa to step down as it was a principled decision, not a personal level. On Yeddyurappa`s Karnataka Janata Paksha getting 10 per cent vote share in the very first election it fought, Naidu said BJP`s main rival was Congress and soon people would realise there "is no meaning in supporting" these parties as such a course would only lead to division of votes and help Congress. PTI