It took two days of persuasion for Udupi Member of Parliament and Bharatiya Janata Party Karnataka secretary Shobha Karandlaje to agree to speak to Newslaundry. In the course of the conversation, she accused incumbent Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of being power hungry. Karandlaje also defended jailbird Janardhan Reddy’s move to campaign for BJP candidate B Sriramulu, saying the two are “close friends”. Excerpts:
The Congress party has already released its manifestos for the Karnataka Assembly polls. The Janata Dal-Secular too has published its key promises. But the Bharatiya Janata Party, despite being a political force nationally, is yet to release its manifesto. What is the reason for the delay?
