Congress will win at least 12 seats, return to power: Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru, Dec 01: CLP leader Siddaramaiah on Saturday claimed that his party will win at least 12 seats, if not all the 15, in the December 5 bypolls and a political change in the state will then be inevitable.
The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader also accused the B S Yediyurappa-led BJP government in the state of doing nothing for the flood victims.
"We (Congress) are going to win at least 12 seats. No wonder if we win 15 seats. If we win 12 seats, how can the BJP government survive? Yediyurappa has to resign.
Then, political change will be inevitable," Siddaramaiah told reporters at Kokatnur in Athani assembly constituency in Belagavi district.
The former chief minister claimed there was a strong undercurrent in the state in favour of the Congress as the people have made up their mind to teach the defectors a lesson.
He was talking to reporters while campaigning for Gajanana Mangasuli, the Congress candidate from Athani.
The ruling BJP needs to win at least six seats in the bypolls to 15 constituencies to remain in a majority in the 224-member assembly, which would still have two vacant seats-- Maski and R R Nagar.
The Congress-JDS coalition ministry had collapsed in July, following the rebellion by 17 disqualified MLAs.
Among 15 constituencies going to the bypolls, 12 were held by Congress and three by JD(S).
The BJP has fielded 13 of the 16 disqualified legislators who joined the party as its candidates from their respective constituencies.
To a question on Yeddyurappa's warning that defamation case will be filed against him for making statements alleging that the disqualified MLAs were bought over by his party, the Congress leader welcomed it saying it will give him an opportunity to expose them.
"They (BJP) are afraid of me. Whom should anyone target when they know who is causing them damage? That is why they have to target me. I am ready to face all of them.
If the BJP or the JD(S) targets me, then also I am not going to get scared, the former chief minister said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Fully confident of winning bypolls to 2 Assembly constituencies in Karnataka: CM Siddaramaiah
Davangere (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday asserted that he was one hundred per cent confident that Congress will win by-polls to two Assembly Constituencies in the state, claiming the BJP will face defeat, similar to what they experienced in earlier byelections.
He also played down the disgruntlement among the other ticket aspirants in the Congress, saying that everyone will be convinced and come together to ensure the party's victory.
Bypolls for the Bagalkot and Davanagere South Assembly constituencies will be held on April 9. The polls were necessitated following the deaths of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti and Shamanur Shivashankarappa, respectively.
"I'm one hundred per cent confident that we will win both seats. BJP may claim that they will win, but where have they won? They had made similar claims in the previous bypolls, didn't we defeat sons of former CMs Basavaraj Bommai and H D Kumaraswamy?" Siddaramaiah asked in response to a question.
Speaking to reporters here, he said the BJP may claim things, but the Congress government has fulfilled its promises and walked the talk by implementing five guarantee schemes.
"People of the state are in our (Congress) favour. We have proved it in the previous byelections. People, including Dalits, backward class people, poor, farmers and minorities -- all of them are with us," he added.
When questioned about claims by some BJP leaders that the bypoll results would indicate the outcome of the 2028 Assembly polls in the state, the CM asked, "When they won't win, what indicator is that?"
"We are in power, we won three by-elections earlier, and I'm confident that we will win these by-elections too," he added.
Congress in November 2024 had swept the by-polls to three Assembly constituencies -- Sandur, Shiggaon and Channapatna.
Responding to a question, Siddaramaiah claimed that the BJP will face defeat in all four states -- Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and the union territory of Puducherry -- which are going for polls.
After several rounds of discussion amid stiff competition for the party tickets, Congress on Sunday announced Umesh Meti and Samarth Mallikarjun as the party candidates for Assembly by-polls to Bagalkot and Davangere South assembly constituencies, respectively.
The Congress gave tickets to family members of the late legislators in both constituencies. While Umesh Meti is the son of H Y Meti, Samarth Mallikarjun is the grandson of Shamanur Shivashankarappa.
Expressing confidence that the disgruntlement within the party, following candidate selection, especially in the Davangere South constituency, will be resolved, the CM said, adding that the candidate selection was a unanimous decision by the party.
Pointing out that ticket aspirant Sadiq Pailwan has announced he will contest as a rebel in Davangere South, he said, "We will try and convince him."
When asked whether Muslims would be compensated, Siddaramaiah said, "Nothing has been discussed, but we will try to give representation to minorities."
There was a strong demand from Muslims for the Davangere South ticket, as the community has a significant presence in the constituency. Some factions within Congress had opposed giving the ticket to the Shamanur family.
