Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who exercised his franchise at his native village of Siddaramanahundi, around 30 km from here on Thursday, expressed confidence of a thumping Congress victory in the Lok Sabha elections.
Warm welcomeIt was also his first visit to his village after assuming charge as Chief Minister.
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He was given a rousing reception by the residents, who burst firecrackers to welcome him and ushered him to a local temple for special prayers and rituals.
“The last time I visited my village was during the Assembly elections to cast my vote. I have come here again to exercise my franchise as one should not miss out on voting,” said Mr. Siddaramaiah.
After being welcomed, the Chief Minister went to the polling booth, produced his voter ID card and cast his vote.
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Incidentally, Mr. Siddaramaiah had forgotten his voter ID card during the Assembly elections last year. But luckily, he had an MLA ID card provided by the State government in his car and so was able to cast his vote.
After voting, Mr. Siddaramaiah spoke to mediapersons and expressed satisfaction that polling was by and large peaceful. He said the trend was in favour of the Congress.
‘Tall claims by BJP’“The BJP is making tall claims, but my assessment is that Congress will win between 18 to 20 seats in the State,” he said. He made light of opinion polls and surveys that indicated a rout for the Congress and pointed out that no survey gave Congress a chance in 2004 and there had been other instances as well. “The surveys and opinion polls are based on a small sample and can go wrong,” said Mr. Siddaramaiah.