Siddharamaiah’s Badami Burden “I will know after I go to Bengaluru,” says CM

Mysuru:  Chief Minister Siddharamaiah, after filing his nomination papers to contest for the May 12 Assembly elections from Chamundeshwari constituency yesterday, left for Bengaluru this morning from his residence in Ramakrishnanagar. He was accompanied by Excise Minister R.B. Thimmapur.

Addressing the media before he left for Bengaluru, Siddharamaiah, to a pointed question whether he would contest from Badami, said that only after he goes to Bengaluru will he come to know whether he will contest from there too. Meanwhile, Thimmapur, who was by his side, said that Congress in North Karnataka was keen to see that Siddharamaiah contests from Badami in Bagalkot District too. “We are putting pressure on him to contest from Badami as we are sure that he is capable of winning from both the Constituencies,” he said.

Asked whether he would meet actor Ambarish, CM Siddharamaiah shot back, “Why are you creating an issue? He has been given a ticket and it is the Party President who will issue the nomination papers and not me.”

He said that he had already toured 150 Constituencies in the State and that All India Congress Committee (AICC) President Rahul Gandhi will campaign in Karnataka again for a week. Without specifying which places Rahul Gandhi will be touring, he said that Rahul would be in Karnataka on Apr.26 and 27 and from May 2 to 4 and again on May 8 and 9.

Taking pot-shots at BJP National President Amit Shah’s reaction to calling the State Government the most corrupt, he said that he had no right to talk about corruption as the rise in income of his own son within a short span clearly shows who is corrupt.  “What moral ground Amit Shah has to call himself a Hindu when he belongs to the Jain community. Besides, when he himself was in jail, he has no right to talk about corruption,” said Siddharamaiah.

To another question regarding former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa questioning about his win in Mysuru, the CM said let him first win in Shikaripura.

On MLA G.T. Devegowda telling that since he (Siddharamaiah) was not confident of winning in Chamundeshwari, he was trying to contest from Badami too, Siddharamaiah countered, then why is former CM H.D. Kumaraswamy contesting from two places?