DK Shivakumar on Karnataka polls: wants no alliance
DK Shivakumar said the Conress will not need to team up with the JDS.
Bengaluru:
Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar on Wednesday strongly rejected the possibility of having to team up with the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) to take on the BJP after the May elections, proclaiming that his party would win a majority of both third in the assembly of 224 seats.
Speaking to NDTV hours after the election commission announced the dates for the polls, Mr Shivakumar ruled out the possibility of a suspended assembly and a coalition with the JD-S, which is seen as a kingmaker potential in the event of a fractured mandate.
“We don’t want any alliance with any political party. I am very confident that we will have a two-thirds majority. We will have double the number of seats of the BJP,” he said.
Mr. Shivakumar said the Congress has a strong base in Karnataka and has been working for the welfare of all sections of society. He claimed that the people of Karnataka are fed up with the BJP government led by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, which he says has failed to deliver on its promises and has been involved in corruption and scams.
“The people have decided they want a new government that rules, they want change, they want to root out corruption, they want a global Karnataka, they want a better Bengaluru. Four years of dual engine government has failed. will have a new engine which will contribute to the prosperity of Karnataka,” he said.
He criticized the BJP for running a campaign on communal polarization, saying, “It’s the BJP’s agenda. The BJP is on the communal agenda. They only kept 50 of the 600 promises they kept. have done. We stand for progress, prosperity and the development agenda.”
Mr Shivakumar, who is contesting from his traditional seat in Kanakapura, said he was confident of winning by a huge margin. Commenting on speculation that former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah could contest Kolar as his second constituency, he said the Congress veteran had only applied for one seat and the decision on the second seat would be made by the election committee. party.
Known as a troubleshooter and Gandhi family loyalist, Mr Shivakumar has also ruled out the possibility of defections from within the party. “We’ve gone through this in great detail. They’re all loyal members of Congress, they’ll stand as a rock,” he said.
Karnataka will vote on May 10, with results on May 13.
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