‘Five guarantees will be cancelled if you don’t vote for us in LS elections,’ says Karnataka Congress MLA

Karnataka Congress MLA HC Balakrishna created a row after he openly said that the five guarantees that are currently being implemented in the state will be pulled back if people do not vote for the Congress party in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. He also said that he had already spoken to CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar about the decision.

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Speaking at an event, HC Balakrishna said, “Everybody is getting the five guarantees we promised earlier. Now, you are asked to choose between Akshate (ceremonial rice that is distributed before an auspicious event) and guarantees. We respect temples, but we are against asking for votes in their name. If you need Akshate, please go ahead but we must cancel the five guarantees.”

The Magadi MLA also said he had already spoken to the CM and deputy CM about it. “I already told CM and deputy CM that if people are voting for Akshate, they are rejecting our five poll guarantees. So, they must be cancelled and the money used for development instead,” he added.

Balakrishna further said that whichever village will vote for them, they will work for them. “Our government is going to be there for the next five years. We will track all the booths and work for those who voted for the Congress party in the Lok Sabha elections. For villages which did not vote for us, we will think about them later,” said the MLA.

The BJP unit of Karnataka lashed out at the Congress party and said that their leaders are diminishing Kannadigas' self-respect. The opposition party also called five poll guarantees five fake guarantees.

“The Congress government does not have the strength to fulfil the guarantees announced. Congress, drowning in the anti-incumbency wave, is now blackmailing Kannadigas as it will burn its hands in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. This is nothing short of an insult to the self-respect of Kannadigas,” Karnataka BJP unit posted in X.