High drama as Congress workers demand that Siddaramaiah be declared Kolar candidate

KOLAR: High drama prevailed during preparatory meeting here on Saturday ahead of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s visit on April 9, with party workers and supporters demanding that Siddaramaiah should contest from Kolar.

The crowd was chanting ‘Siddu, Siddu’ and demanded that he should be announced as Kolar candidate.

The event, earlier christened Satyameva Jayate, will now be called Jai Bharat rally and the party is expecting a crowd of at least two lakh people. During the preparatory meeting on Saturday, several local leaders also joined the party. Several senior Congress leaders including K H Muniyappa, Ramesh Kumar, Salim Ahmed and other were present.

Just as AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala was to begin his address, a section of the crowd started chanting ‘Siddu, Siddu’ and raising slogans that he will be the next Chief Minister. They also demanded that he should address the gathering and that his name should be announced as the candidate from Kolar.

Siddaramaiah requesting the party workers to allow Surjewala to speak.

When MLA S N Narayana Swamy could not pacify the crowd, Siddaramaiah himself came to the front of the stage and requested the party workers to quiten and sit down. “Surjewala is our AICC general secretary. Please allow him to speak”, Siddaramaiah told the crowd.

Earlier, Siddaramaiah inspected the preparations for the April 9 rally.

In his speech, Surjewala said that he acknowledges the sentiments of the party cadre and added that the party leadership will take a decision on fielding Siddaramaiah from Kolar. As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd erupted again, even disturbing Siddaramaiah’s speech.

The Congress legislature party leader finally told the crowd, ” I am mentally prepared to contest from Kolar, but the high command will take a final decision. Let’s wait for it”, he added.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will address a rally in Kolar in Karnataka on April 9, the day Prime Minster Narendra Modi is also slated to visit the state.

“Sh. @RahulGandhi will be in Kolar on 9th April and address the Jai Bharat Mega Rally there. On 11th April, he will visit Wayanad. He is the voice of the people, you can never silence him. This voice will only get louder and stronger”, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said in a tweet.