Bengaluru: Amid discontent among some of the ruling coalition members in Karnataka, state BJP President BS Yeddyurappa on Friday claimed that several leaders from both Congress and JD(S) were ready to join his party.
Addressing the BJP state executive meet here, the leader of opposition in the assembly also termed the JD(S)-Congress partnership an "unholy coalition" and the budget scheduled to be presented by it on July 5 as a "minority budget".
He asked his partymen to work towards ensuring the BJP wins 25 of the state's 28 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 national elections.
"Several Congress and JD(S) leaders are ready to join the BJP in the current political situation. I appeal to leaders to work towards strengthening the party by bringing in honest and capable people without thinking that new inductees would affect their own chances," he said.
"Those who are ready to come to the BJP, we have to go to them personally, to their houses and talk to them and bring them to the party fold and strengthen the party for Lok Sabha polls," he said.
Earlier too, when there was widespread dissatisfaction in both Congress and JD(S) following the cabinet expansion, Yeddyurappa had claimed that several "disgruntled" leaders from the ruling coalition were eager to join his party.
Yeddyurappa's recent Ahmedabad trip to meet party national president Amit Shah had fuelled speculations that several dissatisfied Congress MLAs were in touch with him and ready to switch over, which might again try its hand to form a government in the state.
However, he himself had sought to end the speculation, saying he had gone to invite Shah for today's state unit executive meeting.
Yeddyurappa had resigned as chief minister without facing a vote of confidence in the assembly last month as the BJP lacked the numbers for a majority.
The BJP today held its first state executive meeting after the assembly elections in the state in May this year.