Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday rejected fresh calls that he contest from the Chamundeshwari constituency in the Assembly elections.
Responding to appeals from his supporters, Mr. Siddaramaiah, while addressing a gathering at the party office here, not only made the above point clear but also added that he had not yet finalised his constituency.
He claimed that he had received invitation from people of Badami, Koppal, Kolar, Hunsur and also Varuna. “I have not decided from where I should contest, but Chamundeshwari is ruled out,” he said.
Mr. Siddaramaiah pointed out that he had won five times from Chamundeshwari, but had lost thrice from there. Victory and loss was common in politics, the Congress leader said while claiming that his government had implemented 158 out of the 165 pre-poll promises, besides introducing 30 other new schemes. “Yet, we were defeated,” he said.
Though not upset with the voters of Chamundeshwari, Mr. Siddaramaiah said he was angry with party workers for their failure to publicise the works of the party government. “Had the workers gone to the houses of voters and informed them about our programmes, we would not have lost,” he said.
Mr. Siddaramaiah also regretted the propaganda against him. He said his rivals had falsely blamed him for dividing the Lingayat community and not implementing the Sadashiva Commission recommendations.
He claimed that the programmes introduced by his government such as Anna Bhagya, Ksheera Bhagya, Indira Canteen, loan waiver, Shoe Bhagya etc. had benefited the poor of all castes and communities.
Last election
Mr. Siddaramaiah also made it clear that the Assembly elections in 2023 would be his last electoral contest.
He said he would not accept any post offered to him later. “If they ask me to become a Rajya Sabha member, I will not accept it.”
He said he was contesting the next elections only to ensure the ouster of the “corrupt and communal” BJP government.
Tour of rain-hit areas
Earlier, speaking to reporters, Mr. Siddaramaiah said he had put off his scheduled tour of rain-hit areas in view of the Presidential polls scheduled for Monday.
He called upon the State government to ensure that compensation was given to the victims of the rain havoc within a week. Several victims of the floods that had ravaged the State during 2019 when B.S. Yediyurappa was the Chief Minister were yet to receive compensation, Mr. Siddaramaiah claimed.
