'Kumaraswamy failed to deliver on farm loan waiver'

 The Karnataka coalition government led by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has "failed" to deliver on its promise of farm loans waiver, BJP state unit president B.S. Yeddyurappa said on Wednesday.

"The Chief Minister promised farm loan waiver before coming to power, but failed to deliver it even in nine months of his government," Yeddyurappa told the media here.

The Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S)-Congress coalition government did not implement any development programmes for the welfare of the state's residents, he said.

Hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a "world leader", Yeddyurappa said the Central government's schemes like the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM Kisan) have benefited crores of farmers.

Stating that Modi ensured a "corruption-free" administration in the country, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said the party was confident of winning 22 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the general elections on April 18 and 23 in the state.

Most of the sitting BJP MPs in the state will be given party tickets, he said.

Former Congress legislator Umesh Jadhav, who quit the party to join the BJP on March 6, will contest from Kalaburagi, to take on Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, Yeddyurappa said.

"We have not finalised our candidates yet," he said, adding that the decision will be taken by the leadership soon. - IANS