"No setback for BJP, Congress will soon show Laxman Savadi his place": BJP Karnataka Chief

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], April 14 (ANI): Hours after Laxman Savadi joined the Congress party, Bharatiya Janata Party national general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Arun Singh hit out at the former Deputy Chief Minister and said that soon he will be shown his place by Congress.
Arun Singh's remarks came hours after the senior BJP leader and Minister joined the Congress party.
Speaking to ANI, Arun Singh said, "There is no setback for BJP. Laxman Savadi lost the MLA election, if he was such a big leader, why was he defeated? The fact that he has left the party is a concern for him, not for us (BJP). Congress will soon show him his place".
"Everyone should listen to one thing carefully, whoever leaves the party, will not be able to return to the party for the next 10 to 20 years," he added.
The BJP general secretary further said that Laxman Savadi will not be made the Deputy Chief Minister by the Congress party.
"There are already three candidates who are aspiring for the chief ministerial position in the Congress party. Laxman Savadi is thinking that he will become Deputy CM there also just like he was in BJP. But this is not going to happen. Even Rahul Gandhi will not be meeting him for at least 10 years," he said.
He further attacked Laxman Savadi, alleging that he left BJP, despite all that the party did for him.
"BJP gave many opportunities to Laxman. He was made MLA, MLC, and Deputy CM, and after that he was given a place in the core committee as well as in the election committee. Even after that, he left the party and went to Congress for his personal interest. It is a wrong decision," he said.
Talking about the Congress party, the BJP Karnataka in-charge said, "Congress party is divided among itself. The party is running only on quarrels, there are quarrels in every state. So, it is a matter of concern for them (Laxman Savadi) to go to such a party, there is no worry for us, we have a huge strength of workers".
Attacking the Congress further, he said that it is a party which has several factions and is fighting among themselves with no leader or future.
"In Karnataka, there is a battle between Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar, as both think they will become the Chief Minister. In Rajasthan, there is infighting between Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot. In Chhattisgarh also, there is battle between Bhupesh Baghel and TS Singh Dev. So, it is a party with infighting. It is a leaderless party that has no future for anyone," Arun Singh said.
Earlier in the day, in a major blow to the ruling BJP ahead of the Karnataka polls, former deputy CM Laxman Savadi joined the Congress party, after being denied a ticket by BJP.
Savadi met the Congress's state president Shivakumar and the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah at the latter's residence in Bengaluru on Friday.
Savadi, on April 12, had resigned as a Legislative Council member and from the primary membership of the BJP after missing out on a ticket to seek a fresh mandate from his Assembly constituency, Athani.
In the 2018 polls, the BJP emerged as the largest single party, winning 104 seats, with the Congress and then ally JD(S) bagging 80 and 37 seats respectively.
The term of the current Karnataka Legislative Assembly will end on May 24. The 224-seat Assembly will go to polls on May 10, and the counting of the votes will be held on May 13. (ANI)