LS poll results will have bearing on CM Siddaramaiah's continuation in post, hints minister
Kolar (Karnataka), Apr 18: Indicating that the Lok Sabha poll results will have a bearing on Siddaramaiah's continuation as chief minister of Karnataka, Minister Byrathi Suresh on Thursday warned that voting for opposition candidates poses a threat to the CM's position.
"(Let your votes) be in favour of Congress, Siddaramaiah and (K V) Gowtham (Kolar Lok Sabha candidate). In case you change your mind and make another candidate win, there will be a threat to Siddaramaiah's (CM) seat. So, I request for your support," Suresh said at a meeting of leaders of the Kuruba community to which Siddaramaiah belongs.
He said, "By voting for Gowtham, you are also voting for Siddaramaiah's leadership."
The statements gain significance amid persistent rumours about a leadership change in the ruling Congress in the state after the Lok Sabha polls, or midway of the current assembly's tenure.
ALSO READ: Congress will win up to 20 LS seats in Karnataka, says CM Siddaramaiah
Amid such speculations, Siddaramaiah had recently asked the people of his Varuna assembly segment to give the Congress candidate a lead of at least 60,000 votes in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, to ensure that he remains in the post of chief minister.
On the same day in Mandya, Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress President D K Shivakumar, who has made no secret about his chief ministerial ambitions, told the people that the desire with which they supported the party in the assembly poll in May last year, keeping him in mind, "will not turn out to be false."
There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the chief minister's post after the assembly election results were declared in May last year. The Congress leadership then managed to convince Shivakumar to take up the deputy chief minister's post.
There were some reports at the time that a compromise had been reached, according to which Shivakumar would become the CM after two-and-a-half years. However, this has not been officially confirmed by the party.
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Apologise for seeking votes for Modi earlier: Uddhav Thackeray
Kolhapur (PTI): Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said the Narendra Modi government has betrayed Maharashtra, and he apologises to the people for seeking votes for the prime minister in earlier elections.
Thackeray and his Maha Vikas Aghadi ally and NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar spoke at a rally at Ichalkaranji in Kolhapur district of western Maharashtra in support of Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate from Hatkanangale constituency, Satyajit Patil.
Talking about the circumstances in which his government fell in 2019, Thackeray said the Supreme Court had not delivered its verdict on whose Shiv Sena was the real one, but the "Election Commission and the arbitrator (Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwekar) who were working as their (BJP's) servants, gave their verdicts."
"Now when PM Modi calls us fake Shiv Sena, he is putting pressure on the court," Thackeray said. Sharad Pawar said that Modi, during visits to Maharashtra, only criticises him (Pawar) and Thackeray instead of speaking about his plans for the state. Pawar also accused the Centre of misusing central agencies and pointed to the arrests of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in alleged corruption cases.
Thackeray said when no one was willing to join hands with the BJP, the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with it. The saffron party, however, brought down the government of a man whose family had given it everything, he said, referring to the fall of his government in June 2022. "I apologise for seeking votes for Modi (in the past) because his government has betrayed Maharashtra," the Sena (UBT) chief added.
He also accused the BJP of using the Shiv Sena in the Lok Sabha elections but scheming to defeat its candidates in assembly polls. "You used Shiv Sainiks (in Lok Sabha polls) but defeated our candidates (in assembly polls). I have come to avenge it," said Thackeray who parted ways with the BJP in 2019. Thackeray and Pawar also shared the stage at a rally in Kolhapur city for Congress candidate Shahu Chhatrapati.
Pawar said on the occasion that Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru spoke about the country when he visited the states, while Indira Gandhi would talk about poverty alleviation. "But this PM can not rest till he targets Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar. I want to tell Modi ji, however may you criticise us and bypass important issues facing the state and the country, the people of Maharashtra will teach you a lesson," he said. Hitting out at Modi for calling Pawar "wandering soul," Thackeray in his speech recalled that Atal Bihari Vajpayee had praised Pawar's disaster management skills.
