Former chief minister Siddaramaiah has, on several occasions previously, stated that he would not want to contest in any future elections. But, from his recent speech during the inaugural function of a temple at Holenarasipura town on August 24, it can be gleaned that the former chief minister is having second thoughts about this stance.
During his speech at the function, Siddaramaiah expressed that he wanted to be chief minister of the state for one more term and added that he has confidence that the people would support him and bring him to power once more.
Commenting on the Assembly elections that were held a few months ago, Siddaramaiah said that he was sure that he would be chief minister once again and that when he was chief minister, he had instituted several schemes to help people of all classes but, the people did not support him. “Elections now are being fought on the basis of caste and money. This is dangerous in a democracy,” he stated.
He then criticised the Central government for not providing relief funds to the district of Kodagu that until recently, had been battling heavy rains and horrific landslides. He also took a dig at the Prime Minister for not personally visiting the district and taking stock of the situation.
Responding to Siddaramaiah’s wish to become chief minister again, CM HD Kumaraswamy said that he would be delighted if Siddaramaiah’s wish were to come true. State minister for water resources DK Shivakumar, however, said that Siddaramaiah’s statement was probably made to encourage the party workers and that this was not the way the former chief minister usually speaks. “The interests of the party come first. All of us have our own aspirations but, we will stick to our promise that Kumaraswamy will remain the chief minister for the entire five-year term,” he explained.
