Bhatkal: R.V. Deshpande, former Karnataka minister and Congress candidate for Haliyal constituency has lashed out at the BJP, saying that the party is afraid of a report from the intelligence department that predicts the Congress party will come to power in Karnataka this time. Deshpande claims that this is why the Prime Minister, Home Minister, and other Union Ministers are campaigning in Karnataka.

Deshpande, who attended a Congress campaign program in Murdeshwar for Mankal Vaidya, the candidate for the Bhatkal-Honnavar Assembly constituency, said that party propaganda is being done by everyone and there is nothing wrong with it. However, he expressed surprise that the Prime Minister and Union Ministers are campaigning in Karnataka out of fear that the Congress party will come to power. According to Deshpande, the Union Ministers may have access to the intelligence department's reports, which predict the Congress's victory. Deshpande further stated that Modi ji was scared and, therefore, going around Karnataka with the Union Ministers.

When asked by the media whether this would be his last election, Deshpande said, "It will depend on the decision people make." He added that he leaves this decision to his people. He has some projects that need to be completed, such as the 113 irrigation projects that have been sanctioned in Haliyal but are yet to be implemented and completed in the villages. There is also the Kali Irrigation Scheme, which he hopes to see through to completion. Deshpande indicated that he would still be active in politics, even if he does not contest future elections.