Minutes before leaving for New Delhi, Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar — one of the two contenders for the Karnataka chief ministerial post — said on Tuesday that he will neither “backstab nor blackmail”. “If am eligible (for CM post), they will give me. Why worry?” he asked.
“Ours is a united house, our number is 135. I don’t want to divide anyone here. Whether they like me or not, I am a responsible man. I will not backstab and I will not blackmail,” he said at Bengaluru airport.
The tallest Vokkaliga leader of the Congress, Shivakumar broke down in front of the cameras after Karnataka election results came out. He recalled Sonia Gandhi’s visit to Delhi’s Tihar jail to meet him in 2020 when he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money laundering case.
“I assured Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge that I will deliver Karnataka. I can’t forget Sonia Gandhi coming to meet me in jail,” Shivakumar told reporters.
He and Siddaramaiah, both frontrunners for the Chief Minister’s post, were called by the Congress national leadership to Delhi for discussions. On Monday evening, Shivakumar had initially cancelled his visit to the national capital citing health issues.
Before leaving for Delhi on Tuesday, the Karnataka party unit chief said “the Congress General Secretary has asked him to come alone, and he was going to Delhi alone.” Siddaramaiah reached Delhi on Monday.
“My health is in good condition. Congress party is my temple, Congress party is our big strength, so no need for anyone to be worried,” Shivakumar said at the airport.
“People have blessed us (Congress). We have to put efforts unitedly to save and grow the public trust on us…may the people of Kannada naadu (region), mother Bhuvaneshwari and mother Chamundeshwari (goddesses) continue to bless us to protect the Constitution and make Karnataka ‘Sarva Janangada Shantiya Thota’ (Garden where all communities live in harmony),” he added.
The Congress Legislature Party (CLP), which met at a hotel in Bengaluru on Sunday, had passed a unanimous resolution authorising Kharge to pick the next Chief Minister of Karnataka.
Amid speculations about the number of MLAs supporting him and Siddaramaiah for the post, Shivakumar on Monday said “his strength is 135” as it was under his leadership that the Congress won 135 seats.
In the just-concluded Assembly elections, the Congress scored an emphatic victory with 135 seats, while the ruling BJP and the former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular) secured 66 and 19 seats, respectively.
(With inputs from PTI)
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