Only people, not Siddaramaiah can defeat me: AH Vishwanath

Mysuru: Former MP A.H. Vishwanath, who recently quit the Congress and joined the JD(S), on Thursday came down heavily on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for holding a meeting of Kuruba leaders of Hunsur constituency to persuade them to vote against him in the coming assembly polls. 

“What reason do you have to ask the Kuruba community not to vote for me? Am I not eligible to contest elections? Are you playing caste based politics?” he demanded, addressing the Chief Minister. 

The veteran leader, who was speaking to reporters here, said  Mr Siddaramaiah’s tactics went against the spirit of  democracy. 

“In a democracy you can ask for votes, but you don't have the right to ask people not to vote for someone.  Why should everyone listen to you? You (Siddaramaiah) have money, power, and arrogance but not common sense. If you had it you wouldn’t have asked Kurubas not to vote for me,” he said, declaring, “Siddaramaiah may have arrogance, but I have a heart. His arrogance can do nothing to me.” 

Claiming that the Nanjangud by elections were won with money power, he said the assembly elections were a different ball game as they were not held by a government but by the election commission. “He (Siddaramaiah) is under the illusion that he will win the elections with money power, but that is not possible. Who is the CM to defeat me?  Only the people can do that and the people of Hunsur constituency won't listen to him. Politically I am not an  orphan, I have support of leaders like H D Deve Gowda and  Kumaraswamy,” Mr Vishwanath added.