‘Will contest polls from one seat, not two’: Siddaramaiah ends speculation

Putting all speculation to rest, senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah has clarified that he will contest the upcoming Karnataka assembly polls from one constituency and not two.

“Have I said I will contest from two constituencies? Who said that? I will be contesting from one constituency… I have made it very clear, I’m contesting from one constituency,” Siddaramaiah said in response to a question by media persons in Bagalkote on Wednesday.

In the 2018 assembly polls, Siddaramaiah had contested from two seats — Chamundeshwari and Badami. Hence, there was intense speculation over the last few days over whether the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka assembly would contest from two seats this time, too. However, the former chief minister has said he is willing to contest from Kolar if the party leadership agrees.

Priest’s ‘divine wish’

The speculation gained momentum after a priest, supposedly possessed by the Congress leader’s family deity, expressed the “divine wish” for Siddaramaiah to contest from two seats. The incident reportedly took place during his MLA son Yathindra’s temple visit in Mandya district recently.

Also read: Karnataka Assembly polls: It’s Siddaramaiah vs BJP and JD(S) this time

Stating that the propaganda about him searching for a constituency like a “nomad” was a media creation, Siddaramaiah said, “I have contested eight times from Chamundeshwari constituency and twice from neighbouring Varuna, after delimitation, as my native village went to Varuna. I again came back to Chamundeshwari in 2018, thinking that it will be my last election, but was defeated.”

“I had contested from Badami (second seat), too, in 2018, and I won from there. Since Badami is far and I won’t be able to meet people of the constituency every day, I thought of contesting from the constituency nearer (to Bengaluru) this time. People of Kolar have invited me; I have said I will contest if the high command agrees,” he added.

Poll panel meet in Feb

Further hitting out at the BJP for its comments on his constituency shift and claims about his looking for a second seat, the Congress legislature party leader said, “If a candidate contests from one constituency only, is he or she a leader? If Narendra Modi contests from two seats, he is a big leader. But Siddaramaiah cannot contest from two; such attitude shouldn’t be there.”

Also read: Karnataka polls: Why did Siddaramaiah decide to contest from Kolar?

Meanwhile, state Congress president DK Shivakumar said Siddaramaiah has clearly stated that he will contest from one constituency and has submitted one application, and the party will decide now.

Regarding the candidates’ list announcement, he said the process is already on to shortlist the probable candidates. On February 2, the state election committee will meet in Bengaluru, Shivakumar added.

(With agency inputs)