Mangalore, May 5: During an election campaign for the upcoming assembly polls In Karnataka, the BJP have alleged that 23 of their workers were killed by 'jihadi' forces in the past five years, under the Congress rule, reported NDTV.

The Home Ministry received a letter from a BJP lawmaker from Udupi, Shobha Karandlaje. In the letter, Karandjale listed 23 names which of the leaders which she claimed to be killed by ‘jihadi forces. The first name on the list is of Ashok Poojary. According to the BJP lawmaker, he was killed on September 20, 2015.

NDTV in its report confirmed that Poojary is still alive. NDTV’s Senior journalist Sreenivasan Jain met him in his village in Udupi district, 2 hours north of Mangalore. Poojary is a worker of the Bajrang Dal and the BJP. According to him, he was attacked in 2015 by six men riding on three motorbikes because he worked with Hindutva organisations. He said the attackers recognised him because he was wearing a saffron scarf wrapped around his head, while returning from work. Poojary plays the drums in a wedding band.

"I was in ICU (Intensive Care Unit) for 15 days. They thought I was going to die. But then thanks to God, I made it", NDTV reported quoting Poojary. He said that Shobha Karandlaje called him to admit that adding his name on the list was a mistake, but the BJP still considers that 23 workers died in the communal violence. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while campaigning for assembly elections "More than 2 dozen of our workers have been killed in Karnataka.”

The state government has quashed BJP’s claims. According to Siddaramaiah government out of 23 names mentioned in the list, 14 deaths had nothing to do with Muslim attackers. The government said that most of the persons mentioned were killed due to personal enmity or committed suicide. The District President of Vishwa Hindu Parishad or VHP in Mangalore, Jagadish Shenava told NDTV that the BJP will not make false claims. "If the names are there, it must be correct", he said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 05, 2018 11:37 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).