Karnataka by-polls: Siddaramaiah dismisses reports of Congress leaders not campaigning

Denying speculation of senior Congress leaders not campaigning for the Karnataka by-polls, former Chief Minister and senior Congressman Siddaramaiah on Thursday said that there was no truth in such reports. "Allegations that most Congress leaders are not campaigning for the Karnataka by-polls is not true, all leaders are campaigning. Why can't you ask the same question to BJP? Why is only Yediyurappa roaming around? Why are Narendra Modi and Amit Shah not campaigning?" Siddaramaiah said.

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Siddaramaiah informed that Gadag MLA HK Patil is looking after the district and along with VS Ugrappa, senior leaders are also campaigning in Davangere. Siddaramaiah added that Congress' main aim was to win  maximum number of seats in these by-polls and they are presently not thinking about government formation in the state. "We have not thought whether we can form the government after winning 12 seats as I told I don't want to find any meaning in Chief Minister Yediyurappa's statements. Our main aim is to win at least 12 seats," he said.

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Attacks BJP govt over flood relief

Siddaramaiah also attacked BS Yediyurappa's BJP government over its flood relief measures. "The effect of not visiting the state at the time of floods will definitely affect BJP which also happened in Maharashtra. They did not approve compensation for relief funds to Maharashtra which is why they lost there. Most of the North Karnataka BJP candidates will lose for sure".

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Bypolls on December 5

The by-polls for 15 out of 17 seats in Karnataka are slated to be held on December 5. Among the 15 constituencies going to by-polls, 12 were held by the Congress and 3 by JD(S), whose coalition government collapsed due to rebellion by the disqualified MLAs. With winning majority seats crucial for the government's survival, the BJP has fielded 13 of the 16 disqualified legislators who joined the party as its candidates from their respective constituencies.

(With ANI inputs)

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