Even though results of any by-elections do not set the trend for the outcome of the future polls generally, they will surely reflect the people’s opinion on the present regime, said former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Speaking to reporters at the airport in Mysuru on Saturday, the Congress leader claimed that his party will win both Sindagi and Hanagal seats in the coming by-elections scheduled for October 30.
“People are fed up with the BJP Government both at the Centre and in the State”, he said while adding that the BJP claimed to convert Karnataka into a heaven if people elected their party to power both at the Centre and in the State. “On the contrary, people’s lives have become hell”, he said.
When asked if he believed the by-polls will be held in a fair manner in view of the allegations of irregularities committed by the ruling party in the previous polls, Mr. Siddaramaiah said one should believe in democracy.
Fielding queries on the reason behind JD(S) fielding candidates from the minority communities in both the constituencies in the by-polls, Mr. Siddaramaiah suspected that the intention behind the move was not good. He said the JD(S) was surely not fielding candidates from the minority community to help them win. “If they wanted minority community candidates to win, they would have fielded them in other places”, he said.
However, the Congress leader said the voters are very intelligent and cannot be underestimated. The voters will see through such a game-plan, he said.
When his attention was drawn to the raid by the Income Tax Department on the premises of an aide of former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, he did not rule out the possibility of the raids being politically motivated. Though he wasn’t sure, the Congress leader said it appeared to be politically motivated on the face of it as the IT department had targeted people who had bagged contracts of the Irrigation Department, as well as a close aide of the former Chief Minister.
Mr. Siddaramaiah once again made it clear that he will not quit State politics and go to the national stage. When reporters asked him questions on the issue, the former Chief Minister said Congress leader Sonia Gandhi had neither asked him to come to the national capital nor was the issue discussed.
