BJP says no post-poll alliance in Karnataka

With the bitter coalition experience with the Janata Dal-Secular still fresh in its mind, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday said it will not enter into any post-poll alliance in Karnataka in the event of a fractured verdict.

Senior party leader Lal Kishenchand Advani made it clear that the BJP will prefer to sit in the opposition if it does not secure a majority on its own.

"I am optimistic that this time the BJP would be able to get a majority on its own.... But if we are not able to muster a majority on our own, we would like to be in the opposition," he told Times Now.

The saffron party is playing the stability card in Karnataka, which saw three chief ministers from three parties entering and exiting office within a span of 30 months.

"I depend on the judgment of the electorate, which would have benefitted from the experience of instability of the last time and on that basis I too hope BJP will get a majority," Advani said.

Asked whether the BJP made a mistake by aligning with the JD-S for the second time which saw B S Yeddyurappa becoming chief minister for eight days, Advani said, "It is a question of trust. Now if a party betrays and breaks the trust, I think the people will fight for the betrayed."