Karnataka assembly polls: BJP RS member asks senior leaders to make way for younger partymen

Senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member Lahar Singh Siroya on Thursday urged senior leaders to follow in the footsteps of some senior leaders of Gujarat and make way for younger partymen by staying away from the forthcoming assembly elections.

He mentioned the decision of former Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani, former deputy CM Nitinbhai Patel and two other former ministers not to contest assembly polls. "What has happened in Gujarat should serve as a model in Karnataka too," he tweeted. “This is a commendable move to strengthen democracy by allowing a smooth generational change. Karnataka assembly polls will be held in a few months from now. Senior leaders in the state should make way for younger people in the larger interest of the state and nation," he said in a tweet.

The timing of his tweets have led to interpretations among sections of partymen as they come a day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bengaluru to participate in a series of events. Some wondered if the tweets convey the minds of one or more party leaders to elders to step aside voluntarily from the assembly elections that are about five months away.