Only followers of Shivaji Maharaj will win , not of Tipu Sultan's, says Karnataka BJP MLA ahead of upcoming state polls

Bijapur (Karnataka) [India], February 28 (ANI): Basangouda Patil Yatnal, BJP MLA from Vijayapura constituency of Karnataka has stated that "only followers of Shivaji Maharaj" will win from Bijapur in the upcoming Karnataka assembly elections and not the "followers of Tipu Sultan."
He said this while addressing an election rally in Vijayapura on Monday.
"All MLAs ask me, in your constituency, there are 1 lakh Tipu Sultans. How a Shivaji Maharaj descendants won from Bijapur. Going forward in Bijapur, none of the followers of Tipu Sultan will win, only Shivaji Maharaj's followers will win here," the BJP MLA said.
Congress MLA Priyank Kharge, son of senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge has strongly objected to the comments made by the BJP MLA.
"It is not right to bring this kind of narrative into the politics of the state. We are Kannadigas & we prefer progressive politics. You need to talk about development activities& then get votes" Priyank Kharge said.
It has to be noted that the debate around Tipu Sultan has taken centre stage in the political corridors of Karnataka. Last week, Karnataka BJP chief Nalin Kumar Kateel stated that followers of Tipu sultan should not be alive. Kateel also stated that upcoming elections will not be fought between BJP and congress but between Savarkar and Tipu Sultan.
In this regard, senior BJP leader BS Yediyurappa made a statement while disagreeing with Tipu vs Savarkar narrative, stating that elections will be fought on development issues instead of ideological issues. He further stated that BJP will win the state elections on the basis of its development agenda and schemes.
Legislative Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in Karnataka before May 2023. (ANI)