BENGALURU, MYSURU: Ahead of the 2023 Assembly election, Opposition leader Siddaramaiah’s plan to contest from Kolar, a JD(S) stronghold, has created ripples in political circles. This has led to both Siddaramaiah and JDS leader and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy sniping at each other over the last couple of days.
Reacting to suggestions that the JD(S) may tie up with the BJP, Kumaraswamy shot back saying, “There is no need to ally with the BJP to defeat Siddaramaiah in Kolar”.
“Siddaramaiah is a former chief minister and he can contest from any of the 224 constituencies. We are not taking him lightly. We will definitely put up a fight against him. We have selected our candidates six months ago. The JD(S) allying with BJP to defeat Siddaramaiah is not true. We will rely on our own strength and we will not resort to dirty politics. Winning and losing is part of electoral politics. I am sure that we will defeat him in the upcoming election”, he added.
“There are no issues in Kolar. We will not change our candidate just because Siddaramaiah is planning to contest from that district”, he added.
To a question on whether he has a soft corner for Siddaramaiah, Kumaraswamy rejected it and said, “We are doing our work and there is no point in making aggressive statements. We will work according to the situation”.
Hitting back at Siddaramaiah, who had remarked that Kumaraswamy makes childish statements, the JD(S) leader questioned, “What should I do if he thinks so?”
In Mysuru, Opposition leader Siddaramaiah, who was reacting to Kumarasway’s statement that he given the former a political rebirth, said, “Where was he when I won eight elections? When did he enter politics? That was in 1996. Did I not win elections after that?”
Siddaramaiah also dismissed Kumaraswamy’s statements saying that there was no meaning in it. It is an insult to the voters, he added.
On his choice of constituency for the ensuing Assembly polls, Siddaramaiah said, “A true leader can contest the election from any constituency. People from all constituencies will show love and affection. Ultimately, the party high command will decide from where I will contest”.