Bengaluru, March 12 : Taking dig at “tall claims” of Siddaramaiah that Congress will win the next Karnataka assembly polls despite an overwhelming defeat faced by the party in five assembly polls, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has said BJP will return to power as it is the only party in the country to defy anti-incumbency. “Anti-incumbency is the biggest challenge that any party faces, and BJP is the only party in the country, despite facing anti-incumbency, returns to power not once, but twice, thrice, four times and even five times. “Congress cannot sustain it. In Punjab the Congress lost despite being in power, and that is quite shocking,” he said in the Assembly on Friday. “You (Siddaramaiah) said that the BJP won the elections in four states because the party was ruling. Then, as per your logic, Congress should have won the election in Punjab, but was decimated. Therefore, winning an election being in power is counted as the biggest success these days,” he said. “By making tall claims that we (Congress) will win the next election does not convince the people nowadays. Earlier people used to believe it, but today they are aware of the developments around them. “They know who is speaking what. For them, what somebody is speaking is not important, but who is speaking is important. Therefore, Congress should not be under an illusion that they will win the next election in the state,” Bommai said. “What our leader (BS) Yediyurappa said? He said that we will go before the people with programmes that are announced in the budget and convince them. In his talk, there were hints of labour and effort. “What he (Siddaramaiah) said was that the Congress has already won the election. Therefore, there is no meaning in the tall claims made (by Siddaramaiah),” CM said. “From Manipur to Uttar Pradesh; from Goa to Uttarakhand, BJP has won the elections in these four states. That is because of the programmes given by our national leader Narendra Modi. “Even now PM Modi wave persists. It persists in Karnataka too. Therefore, I have full confidence that BJP will win the 2023 elections by going before the people and giving the account of promises fulfilled,” Bommai said. Bommai was replying to Siddaramaiah’s statement “BJP’s victory in four states is not a big achievement because the party was in power”. Backing Bommai’s statement, his predecessor Yediyurappa said that the party is confident of winning 140 seats in next assembly elections, and Congress will have to again sit in the opposition. Earlier, a verbal spat ensued between Yediyurappa and Siddaramaiah in the Assembly. Launching a tirade against Congress, Yediyurappa said the BJP will step ahead towards achieving a “Congress-Mukt Bharat”. “Election results clearly show that the Congress has been decimated in all five states. This will repeat in Karnataka too. The party does not have leadership in the country. It is certain the BJP will return to power in the state by winning 135-140 seats. Be mentally prepared for sitting in the opposition,” he said. “Siddaramaiah said I was removed from the chief minister’s post, but people of the country and the state know that I resigned voluntarily and made Basavaraj Bommai the chief minister,” Yediyurappa clarified. In reply Siddaramaiah said, Yediyurappa was speaking out of pain after having to quit the chief minister’s post and reminded that he was in tears while stepping down. “People have already decided to throw the BJP out of power and bring Congress back. BJP has retained power where they were in power. How many seats did BJP win in Punjab? Just two,” he said. Taking on Siddaramaiah’s comments on the state budget, Yediyurappa said the revenue deficit is due to Covid, lockdown and economic slowdown, but economic activities are improving. The government is raising debts just as it had done during Siddaramaiah’s rule, he said. BDN ING