Siddu, DKS wary as a lot riding on LS elections

Maqsood Maniyar| NT

Bengaluru: It is being suggested that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s position as head of government may be negatively affected if the party fails to attain favourable results in the Lok Sabha elections.

Deputy Chief Minister and Karnataka Congress DK Shivakumar will also be facing some pressure but he is likely to make a play for the CM’s post regardless of how the party fares.

The Grand Old Party is gearing up for its second big electoral battle in less than a year as last May, they had bagged 135 Assembly seats out of a possible 224.

Siddaramaiah had reportedly won the Congress Legislature Party’s (CLP’s) vote in a landslide with more than 100 MLAs backing him. The party high command had promised Shivakumar the CM’s post for the second half of the fiveyear term.

However, Siddaramaiah and his camp are adamant that he’ll remain in power for the full term.

Back in January, Siddaramaiah’s son Yathindra had made a public statement that his father would remain in power for five years were Congress to perform well in the Lok Sabha election.

He had reasoned that it would be seen as a vote for the five guarantee schemes which cost the State government Rs 56,000 crore yearly.

“It should be made clear that there is moral support for us because of our schemes. You should strengthen Siddaramaiah’s hands by ensuring Congress gets a good number of votes in the Lok Sabha elections and sends many MPs to the Lok Sabha. By this moral support, you can strengthen Siddaramaiah so that guarantees can be continued and he can remain CM for the next five years,” Siddaramaiah said.