Karnataka: Why Congress is offering prayers to LPG cylinders
As Karnataka votes for the Legislative Assembly elections on Wednesday, Congress workers were seen worshipping a Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinder. In a video shared by ANI, the workers can be seen garlanding a cylinder and burning incense sticks near it in the Rajarajeshwari Nagar area of Bengaluru. This comes a day after Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar worshipped a cooking gas cylinder.
Watch: Congress workers offer prayers to gas cylinder
Congress's prayers a dig at PM Modi's 2013 speech
Notably, the Congress offered prayers to the gas cylinders as a response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2013 speech, where he said, "When you go to vote, pray to the gas cylinder before." Sharing the video of Shivakumar praying, the Congress tweeted, "Kannadigas! Before you cast your vote, don't forget to perform this ritual." The clip had Modi's old speech as a voiceover.
Video: Shivakumar performs aarti of gas cylinder
BJP MP Tejasvi Surya responds
Commenting on Congress's video, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Tejasvi Surya on Wednesday said, "At least they are worshipping something." "Suddenly, the Congress party has started praying to everything— whether visiting Bajrang Bali temples last week or seeing God in gas cylinders...We are happy that Congress is doing some kind of puja at least," he added, per Hindustan Times.
20.99% voter turnout recorded till 11:00am
Over 5.31 crore eligible citizens are voting to decide the fate of 2,615 candidates across Karnataka. As of 11:00am, the voter turnout in the state was 20.99%. While the BJP is looking to retain power, the Congress is hoping to unseat the ruling party. The elections are being viewed as a prelude to the Lok Sabha elections, which are scheduled for 2024.
