Karnataka CM Siddamaiah's defence: PM Narendra Modi too contested from two seats

Mysuru: Facing a barrage of attacks from the Opposition BJP and JD(S) for his decision to contest from two seats-Chamundeshwari and Badami- in the May 12 Assembly polls, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah tried to turn the tables on his rivals saying none other than PM Narendra Modi himself had contested from two seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls-Vadodara and Varanasi.

Dismissing JD(S) state president H.D. Kumaraswamy’s claim that he was contesting from Badami owing to the fear of losing in Chamundeswari, the CM hit back asking, “Is it because of the fear of losing in one seat that Mr Kumaraswamy is contesting in two (Channapatna and Ramanagara)?”

He added, “People from North Karnataka pressurised me a lot to contest from Badami. The Congress High Command too felt I should contest from there.”
When asked about BJP’s plans to field Ballari MP B Sriramulu against him in Badami, he retorted, “Let them field anyone. I am not worried about who is contesting. Elections are fought on the basis of ideology, not between individuals.   Let Mr Kumaraswamy spend all his days in Chamundeshwari and campaign against me. That won’t make any difference either.”

Meanwhile, BJP state chief B.S. Yeddyurappa said he was ready to contest against Siddaramaiah in Badami if  party national president Amit Shah asked him to do so.  "If I'm asked to contest, I'm ready. If he asks someone else to contest, they will contest," Yeddyurappa told reporters in Chikkamagaluru.

Former top cop and an influential Veerashaiva-Lingayat community leader, Mr Revanasiddaiah, quit Congress on Sunday, saying his grouse is solely against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

He said that he will not join any other party. “I have respect for Congress, but I am upset with the way Mr Siddaramaiah has treated me. My only target is Mr Siddaramaiah. The roots in Varuna and Chamundeshwari are the same and my aim is to remove them. I will extend my open support to appropriate candidates against him and his son. It is my independent decision,” he said. On talks of his joining the JD(S) and contesting from the Varuna constituency, he dismissed them as rumours. “I am in touch with the JD(S) and I have made my objectives clear to them. I will support JD(S) candidate G.T. Devegowda from Chamundeshwari to defeat Mr Siddaramaiah. I will also back Mr Vijayendra, who is the likely candidate from the BJP from Varuna, to defeat Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah,” he said.

“Mr Siddamaiah has cheated me and has failed to keep up his promise. In 2004, I contested against him. In 2006 by-elections I supported him. In 2008, he said we will contest in two different constituencies, but he contested in Varuna and did not give me opportunity in Chamundeshwari. In 2012, he made me join the Congress with the assurance that he will not short-change me politically. But once he came to power, he did not even invite me to share the stage with him. 

Party leaders completely neglected me and humiliated me by keeping me away from the party. Later, when he sent his son to speak to me, I thought things were settled. But he did not even invite me while filing the nominations. You speak of coexistence, but you occupy three constituencies! It’s like listening to Bhagavad Gita from the mouth of the devil,” he said. He said, “Mr Siddaramaiah has treated me like his pet dog. He tried to pacify me by offering something when he visited my place recently. It was like giving a biscuit to a dog.”