Hitting back at the Prime Minister for his "2+1 formula" jibe at him, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday, 1 May, said that Narendra Modi's formula to win the assembly election in the state is "2 Reddys + 1 Yeddy".
Addressing a rally earlier in the day, PM Modi had likened Siddarammaiah contesting from two seats, and his son Yatindra contesting the polls as the ‘Kannada version’ of Congress' family politics.
I was reading news paper couple of days ago and I found that in Karnataka 2+1 formula is going on. This is nothing but Kannada version of Congress’ family politics. This is the political innovation of the Chief Minister here who is by and large sleeping and seldom awake. With the fear of defeat he went in search of another seat.
Responding to Modi’s jibe, Siddaramaiah in retaliation tweeted:
'Yeddy' is a reference to BJP's chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa.
Siddaramaiah further pointed out that the PM had contested from two seats during 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Siddaramaiah Wants PM Modi to “Address Some Concerns”
On Monday, 30 April, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah posed a few questions to PM Modi, even as the BJP’s star-campaigner arrived in Karnataka.
Ahead of the PM’s rally in Karnataka, Siddaramaiah took to Twitter to ask Modi to “address the following concerns”.
In his next tweet, Siddaramaiah asked Modi to clarify the air around G Janardhan Reddy’s supposed campaign trail in support of B Sriramulu, the party candidate from Badami.
Reddy, a scam-tainted mining baron, has not been included in the electioneering list, but will be campaigning for his “friend” Sirarmulu.
Speaking to reporters earlier, BS Yeddyurappa, the CM candidate from BJP had said: “Janardhan Reddy has not been included in the electioneering list of the BJP. He is campaigning not for the party, but for his friend Sriramulu.”
Siddaramaiah then asked the prime minister if Yeddyurappa is still his party’s chief ministerial candidate, when he reportedly is unwilling to share a stage with the latter.
According to a report by The Hindu, Yeddyurppa will be present at only one of the many rallies to be held by PM Modi on 1 May.
Hitting out at the series of advertisements that the BJP had taken out in newspapers promising action against rape accused in Karnataka, Siddaramaiah tweeted:
In UP’s Unnao rape case, BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar is an accused. Meanwhile in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir, where an eight-year-old was raped and murdered, BJP leaders have been demanding a CBI probe, which is seen by many as a move to ‘shield the accused.’
Siddaramaiah, in his next tweet, criticised the shock demonetisation of November 2016, which left several people across the country in a limbo owing to cash-crunch. He also hit out at the prime minister for his ‘pakoda’ comment.
Siddarmaiah ended his tweet storm with one final question, criticising the NDA’s government’s farm relief package and the banking mess in the economy.
PM Modi is scheduled to begin his campaign blitzkreig in Karnataka starting 1 May, and is expected to address over a dozen rallies in five days.
(The Quint is now on WhatsApp. To receive handpicked stories on topics you care about, subscribe to our WhatsApp services. Just go to TheQuint.com/WhatsApp and hit send.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)