Yeddy's outrageous claim: Balakot strike will help BJP win 22 LS seats in Karnataka

Bengaluru: Karnataka BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa Wednesday said India's pre-emptive strikes on terror camps in Pakistan has created a wave in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will help the party win over 22 of 28 seats in the state in the coming Lok Sabha polls.

"The atmosphere... day by day the wind is increasingly blowing in favour of BJP. Tuesday's action of destroying terror hideouts by entering inside Pakistan has resulted in a pro-Modi wave in the country, the results of which can be seen in coming Lok Sabha polls," Yeddyurappa said.

Speaking to reporters in Chitradurga, he said "It has enthused youths; all this will help us in winning more than 22 Lok Sabha seats (in Karnataka)."

India conducted a major pre-emptive strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad training camp in Balakot early Tuesday, killing a 'very large number' of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders.

India's action comes close on the heels of the Pulwama incident in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed in one of the deadliest terror strikes in decades in Jammu and Kashmir.

Currently, BJP holds 16 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka, Congress 10 and JD(S) 2.

The ruling alliance Congress and JD(S), who have decided to contest the Lok Sabha polls together have begin discussions about seat sharing.

Sharing of seats is expected to be a litmus test for both parties with JD(S) demanding for 10-12 seats, while Congress has maintained that seat sharing will be based on merit.

Union minister and former chief V K Singh, however, said he did not back Yeddyurappa's claims. " I beg to differ. We stand as one nation, action taken by our government is to safeguard our nation & ensure safety of our citizens, not to win a few extra seats," he tweeted.

Former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah also flayed the state BJP chief for calculating electoral gains. "Shocking & disgusting to understand #BJPsPlot4Vote. It is unfortunate that @BJP4India is calculating electoral gains even before the dust has settled. No patriot shall derive such sadistic gains... only a anti-nationalist can," he tweeted.

Opposition alleges 'blatant politicisation'

Opposition parties too expressed anguish over what they alleged was "blatant politicisation" of the sacrifices of armed forces. They urged the government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity and integrity.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley then hit out at the Opposition, asking why it was alleging that the government is politicising the anti-terror operation when the whole nation is speaking in one voice.

"My appeal to India's opposition - 'Let the country speak in one voice'. Please introspect - 'Your ill-advised statement is being used by Pakistan to bolster its case'."

"The cross border terror attack in Pulwama was a reality. The Balakot Operation was India's Anti-Terror preemptive strike to defend its Sovereignty," he said in a series of tweet.