Karnataka: Jaitley hopeful of landslide win for BJP in next year's assembly polls

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said he hopes to see a BJP government installed in Karnataka with a landslide victory in the next year's assembly elections.

He also said that the state now needs to grow in a focused manner.

Speaking at an event 'Budget 2017-An Analysis' organised by the Bengaluru City unit of BJP, he said Karnataka needs to grow two to three per cent more than the national growth. "I am sure that the environment has now been built in Karnataka for a change, and hopefully next year when the elections are held in the state we will again see with a good landslide a BJP government installed in the state," he said.

Assembly elections are scheduled in Karnataka some time during the first half of 2018 and BJP which ruled the state from 2008 to 2013 is hoping to stage a comeback. Stating that Karnataka needs to grow now in a "focused" manner once again, the Finance Minister said "it needs to move at least economically in terms of growth at a much higher pace than even the national growth."

He said Karnataka is one state which extremely has a progressive set of people, the state is innovative, and the state always needs to grow 2 to 3 per cent more than India's growth. "Unless the growth is more than India's growth rate, we won't see the full realisation of potential by the state of Karnataka itself," Jaitley added.

The meeting was attended by Union ministers Ananth Kumar, Sadananda Gowda and State party President B S Yeddyurappa among others.