'Congress will be number one party in Karnataka'

Mumbai: The Congress would emerge as the "number one party" in the Karnataka Assembly elections, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said on Sunday, taking a swipe at the BJP for mobilising the "entire central machinery" for state campaigns.

He also said the understanding between the BJP and his party for the upcoming Legislative Council polls in Maharashtra didn't mean the Sena would forge an alliance with it in the LS and assembly elections in 2019.

"Whenever there are assembly polls, the entire central machinery and chief ministers of all BJP-ruled states go there (to campaign), leaving the administration of the country and of their own states in the lurch. The country is watching all this," Raut told PTI in an interview. Slamming Yogi Adityanath, the Sena's RS MP said the seriousness with which the Uttar Pradesh chief minister took his duties became evident when he was seen campaigning in Karnataka while his own state reeled under a dust storm. "Does the central leadership (of the BJP) not trust its own men in states? Why does PM need to address dozens of campaign rallies when he is needed in Delhi to govern the country?" asked Raut.