On the last day of campaigning for the byelection, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah tried to dispel an impression of differences and infighting over the choice of Congress candidate for the Hebbal Assembly constituency.
In the 15 minutes that he spoke, the Chief Minister brought up the unity theme several times. He delved elaborately into why the confusion existed — and why the party high command chose C.K. Abdul Rahman Sharief. “Two candidates were suggested and the high command chose Mr. Sharief as he was young and because Byrati Suresh still has more than two years for his term as MLC to come to an end,” he said.
He thanked Mr. Suresh, who was standing by the candidate, for working “tirelessly” despite being denied ticket. The MLC then hugged the candidate. And finally, the Chief Minister finished his speech by attempting to turn the tables on the BJP: “It is the BJP that is split into four groups. Many of these groups did not show up for the campaigning.”
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The disunity of the Congress had been persistently pointed out by the BJP. On Friday, Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu again took a jab at the party, saying that Congress was “engulfed” in group politics.
In the 15 minutes that he spoke, the CM brought up the unity theme several times