Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Council, on Friday, 6 November declared that defeat is now assured for the Congress in future elections, while launching a sharp attack on state Home Minister Priyank Kharge over remarks the minister had made about Union Minister and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy. Narayanaswamy made the remarks after visiting the Hasanamba temple in Hassan.

Attack on Priyank Kharge's remarks

Narayanaswamy criticised Priyank for reportedly calling Kumaraswamy a 'village idiot,' warning that such arrogance would invite a popular backlash. 'There is a proverb that says a little knowledge makes a person very arrogant. Priyank is behaving in that manner,' he said. He added that India is a country rooted in its villages and that dismissing village origins amounted to disrespecting the very foundation of the country's governance. 'Everyone who governs our country has come from villages. How can they all be called bumpkins?' he asked.

He also invoked Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, noting that not everyone acquires multiple degrees as Ambedkar did, but that educational qualifications should never be a basis for looking down upon others. 'Despite his education, the Home Minister should understand that a person must demonstrate dignity and good conduct,' Narayanaswamy said.

A rebuke tied to the Kharge family name

Notably, Narayanaswamy drew a pointed distinction between Priyank and his father, All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge, whom he described as a senior leader who had earned national respect. He said he would not add the surname 'Kharge' to Priyank's name out of deference to the elder Kharge. 'Priyank has damaged the reputation of the Kharge family. The son has brought humiliation to his father,' he alleged, suggesting that electoral setbacks for the Congress could be traced partly to Priyank's conduct.

Allegations against the Congress government

Narayanaswamy accused the Congress government in Karnataka of failing to deliver on its election guarantees, claiming that Gruha Lakshmi payments had been pending for five months, that the Indira Kit had gone missing, and that the Yuva Nidhi scheme had still not been implemented. He said the only tangible benefit reaching people was rice provided under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's central scheme. 'Other than the rice provided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government has not given anything,' he alleged.

He also criticised a proposed bus fare hike, arguing that offering free travel to women while doubling fares for men amounted to the government 'taking money from the husband's pocket and putting it into the wife's vanity bag' — a remark framed as an indictment of the government's priorities rather than the beneficiaries themselves.

On EVMs and guarantee theft

Responding to Congress allegations of vote theft in recent elections, Narayanaswamy dismissed the charge, saying there had been no vote theft but rather what he called 'guarantee theft.' He pointed out that the Congress had long opposed Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), yet had failed to win even in elections conducted using ballot papers, calling it an embarrassment for the party. 'Defeat is now guaranteed for the Congress in the future,' he remarked.

He also ruled out any internal adjustment or alliance politics within the BJP, saying no such understanding was on the table. As Karnataka's political temperature stays elevated ahead of future electoral cycles, Narayanaswamy's broadside signals that the BJP intends to press hard on governance failures and leadership conduct as its central campaign narrative.