“He (Siddaramaiah) is a popular leader in the state. He is number one in terms of popularity and they (BJP) want to tarnish his image, and by doing so they think they can weaken the Congress,” Rao told News18.
The Congress is set to release its third list of candidates for the remaining 58 seats out of the total 224 assembly constituencies that will go to polls on May 10. Excerpts from an interview:
Is the Congress confident or, as the BJP says, a bit overconfident this time?
We are working hard and have announced our candidates list even before the announcement of elections in Karnataka. Our preparation has been good and so has our campaign. The guarantees we have announced are attracting people. BJP is completely confused. Till two days ago, they had not even announced the candidates. Now many are separating, leaving and leaving. This shows that the situation is bad for them and Congress is only improving.
There is a rebellion in the BJP and veterans are being asked to retire. Is this Advantage Congress?
Earlier also there was Advantage Congress. Now it is even more beneficial for the Congress.
How many seats do you think you can get from this infighting in BJP?
I cannot fix the number or percentage as we have to announce some more names as well. Finally things are much more favorable for Congress in Karnataka and we (Congress) are almost certain to get absolute majority today.
Just like there is a rebellion in the Congress in the BJP. How would you address this?
In such a situation, there will always be hiccups. Some would quit or raise an aspirant rebellion. In Congress it is at the lowest level while in BJP we are seeing it at a very high level. That’s the difference. Our party leadership is following them (rebels) and trying to sort out the issues.
The ‘Bharosa’ or promises you have made to the Congress… You represent an urban seat. What is clicking in urban areas and rural areas?
All our promises are clicking with people. Inflation is also a factor in urban areas. Somehow, people in the city can find jobs and earn a living. The condition is even worse in rural areas. There is unemployment in urban areas also and this is a big issue for us. It will have a big impact.
The Congress, at one point, was trying to appeal to Lingayat votes after the BJP had treated veteran BS Yeddyurappa. Today BSY is a troubleshooter for the BJP. How do you see BJP using BSY to solve their issues?
BSY is out of the electoral fray. He is trying to secure his son’s future. They (BJP) know their leader and the present chief minister does not even have command. Everything is being controlled by Amit Shah or (JP) Nadda. The only other person who seems to be even slightly connected is Yediyurappa. You are seeing a state BJP president who is not even visible, no one is taking his opinion. CM is just a leader. This shows the kind of government we have had in the last three-four years.
R Ashok, who is contesting from two seats and also against DK Shivakumar in one Kanakapura, is saying that he has a commander in Modi but Shivakumar has none. How would you react to that?
Our All India President is Mallikarjun Kharge, he is our commander in chief. We have Rahul Gandhi. I don’t know what Ashoka meant by saying what he did.
Ashoka also said somewhere Rahul Gandhi goes, the Congress loses.
We have won so many states. Have we not been able to win Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh? We won Punjab last time, but this time we lost. In Karnataka also it is not that we are defeated. So, that’s an assumption that they’ve made. We have won and lost many states.
BJP says that Siddaramaiah is contesting from two seats to be safe and none of the seats are safe for him in Karnataka.
After this Siddaramaiah did not want to contest from Kolar. He decided to go to Varun. Even now there is more pressure on him to contest from Kolar. Siddaramaiah has won so many elections. He has been CM and Deputy CM. Obviously, they want to target him. He is a popular leader of the state. He is number one in terms of popularity and they want to tarnish his image and by doing so they can weaken the Congress.
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