BJP will form Govt in Karnataka: Venkaiah

Claiming a groundswell of support for BJP in the state, Naidu said BJP's dream of forming its first Govt in South India was coming true.

Claiming a groundswell of support for BJP in Karnataka, the party president M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday said BJP's "dream and vision" of forming its first government in South India was coming true.

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Naidu told reporters here that the coming assembly election in Karnataka was going to be a "turning point" in the state's political history, and the Congress' dominance in the state would come to an end.

He said the "surreptitious" manner in which Chief Minister SM Krishna switched his constituency from Maddur to Chamarajpet indicated that the "captain himself is not confident".

Naidu criticised the Congress for giving ticket to fake stamp paper scam-tainted Roshan Baig "leaving all norms and pretensions" but "thanked" the latter for giving an opportunity to make the Telgi scam a poll issue.

He said the SM Krishna Government's performance was "dismal", especially in rural areas. The triangular fight -- between the BJP, Congress and JD (S) -- especially in southern parts of Karnataka would benefit BJP, he indicated.

Naidu said the BJP was the real inheritor of late Ramakrishna Hegde's legacy.

Meanwhile, M Raghupathy, a former Karnataka minister and a loyalist of Hegde, joined the BJP on Friday in the presence of Naidu and state BJP chief Ananth Kumar.