All Congress candidates in Bangalore will win, says CM

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah releasing a book at a Congress workshop in Bangalore on Sunday. Party candidate from the Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency Rizwan Arshad is at left.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has exuded confidence that the Congress will win at least 20 seats in the State in the Lok Sabha elections.

After inaugurating a workshop, ‘Our achievements to your doorstep’, organised by the Bangalore City District Congress Committee here on Sunday, Mr. Siddaramaiah said all three candidates fielded by the party in Bangalore — Rizwan Arshad, Nandan Nilekani and C. Narayanaswamy — would emerge victorious.

Criticising the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister said Mr. Modi would never occupy the top post.

“All that talk about a ‘Modi wave’ is false. There is no such wave here,” he said.

“Our government has already fulfilled 95 of the 165 promises made in our Assembly election manifesto. We will strive to provide world-class infrastructure in Bangalore,” he said.

Later, Mr. Siddaramaiah told presspersons that he was confident that veteran leader C.K. Jaffer Sharief and the former Minister Kumar Bangarappa would not quit the party for any reason.

Ministers R. Ramalinga Reddy, K.J. George, Dinesh Gundu Rao, H.C. Mahadevappa and several other Congress leaders were present.