BENGALURU: The state BJP has buckled under pressure from the ruling Congress and the JD(S) coalition and has decided to join the chorus to retain the prestigious biennial event of Aero India Show in Bengaluru.

With reports that the central government is considering to shift the Aero show to Lucknow, the state BJP, which has been under attack from the JD(S)-Congress government, has been forced into action to save face.

Reason: Of the three MP constituencies in Karnataka, all won by BJP, two of them are ministers in the Narendra Modi cabinet. Furthermore, even the defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman is elected from Karnataka.

Reports say UP has made a strong case to bring the show to Lucknow, keeping in mind the 2019 elections and the fact that the state has the maximum number of Lok Sabha seats. Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath seems to be pushing hard to ensure that the event is held in his state. Those battling for air show to stay in Bengaluru fear Yogi Adityanath's clout within the party may tilt the decision in favour of UP.

However, Union parliamentary affairs and chemicals and fertilizers minister HN Ananth Kumar dismissed the Yogi factor and said: “There is no such personality factor of Yogi Adityanath in the rumour of the Aero Show shifting to Lucknow. In a democratic system, any state can put in an application to host the show. Similarly, UP has applied for it. However, I spoke to defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman and urged her to retain the show in Bengaluru. And I believe that it will remain in Bengaluru.”

Kumar said the case for the biggest aviation expo in the country is already made by the simple fact that Bengaluru is the capital for defence aviation in the country.

“We have HAL, NAL, ISRO and several other central government and private agencies, making Bengaluru the aerospace capital of the country. Bengaluru has the necessary infrastructure to host such a grand show,” he said, hinting at the lack of such facilities in UP.

The minister said that over the next few days he, union minister for planning and statstics D V Sadananda Gowda, Bangalore central MP P C Mohan, Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar will all meet Sitharaman to impress upon her the need to retain the show in the city for its success.

“Furthermore, Sitharama herself is an MP from Karnataka and understands the facts in the issue,” said Kumar.

Meanwhile, in Gadag, BJP state president BS Yeddyurappa also maintained that he and and the Karnataka unit of the party will ensure that the show will be retained in the city.

“It is true that UP has applied for the show to be moved to Lucknow. However, the state BJP and our MPs will impress upon the centre to retain it in Bengaluru,” he said.

Meanwhile, the ruling coalition continued to maintain pressure on the centre with chief minister H D Kumaraswamy having written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to retain the Aero Show in Bengaluru.

In his letter, Kumaraswamy has said that the city has become synonymous with Asia’s premier air show, “Aero India” and that the state government is ready to “assist” the union defence ministry to “suitably upgrade” its infrastructure in terms of roads, public amenities and smooth flow of traffic.

“I would seek your indulgence in the matter to convey approval of government of India for conducting Aero India show 2019 at Bengaluru,” he said in his one page letter to the PM.

