Exclusive interview: DK Shivakumar gets candid ahead of Karnataka bypolls
KPCC President DK Shivakumar has unveiled many secrets ahead of the Karnataka bypolls. This is the first election the Congress leader will be witnessing after being appointed as the KPCC President.
FollowBengaluru: Senior Congress leader DK Shivakumar is set to witness the first election after being appointed as the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President this year.
With just a few hours left for the Karnataka bypolls here is how the Congress leader got candid with Asianet Kannada and has revealed why he is not in a competition with BJP’s candidate for Karnataka bypolls Munirathna:
This will be the first election you will be facing after being appointed as the KPCC president. Is there any kind of pressure?
There has been no pressure. But I have got time to learn from my mistakes and have tried my best to serve the people of the state. However, it is left to the citizens of Karnataka to choose what is best for them.
What mistakes are you referring to in your previous statement?
We (Congress) have made a huge mistake by trusting and believing in corrupt people like Munirathna. We have realised our mistakes and our trying our best to put him down in the upcoming elections.
Are the bypolls to RR Nagar more of a competition between the DK brothers and Munirathna?
You can not compare me with Munirathna and there is no competition between us. This is a competition between our RR Nagar candidate Kusuma and Munirathna.
The BJP candidates are not considering Congress’ candidates as competition for the upcoming bypolls but are focusing on you. What do you have to say about it?
The BJP candidates are not brave enough to talk about Congress or its candidates. The BJP leaders use my name to please the party and to stay in good terms with the senior leaders.
A BJP leader alleged that other than the Kunigal legislator all other Congress leaders are in support of Siddaramaiah and not you. Is this true?
I was born alone, and I will die alone, I have never asked people to be my side or support me. The same BJP leader who stated this once told that wherever he stands today was because of DK Shivakumar, and he (DKS) will be the next Chief Minister of Karnataka. You will find many video clips of the same.
Congress leaders say that the next CM of Karnataka will be from your party.
This is not the time to discuss about the next Chief Minister and we must not make these kinds of statements again. If Congress comes in power in the next term, the high command will decide on who will be the next CM of Karnataka.
But your supporters claim that you will be the next CM of Karnataka.
This is not the right time to discuss that.
There are allegations that you are using the caste card, Vokkaliga community in particular to gain votes in RR Nagar. Do you agree?
I have never used caste or the Vokkaliga community’s name to gain votes. The party itself is my caste and serving the party is my duty.
The Congress has won the RR Nagar constituency twice, but you complained that the Congress leaders were not able to campaign in the constituency. Why?
The BJP supporters tried to attack our campaigners and candidates. They even tried to misbehave with Siddaramaiah. They have settled down now, but we are ready to take legal action against those who misbehaved.
You were raided by the CBI just before the elections. Will this affect the party?
It is BJP’s job to trouble its opposition candidates during the elections. A lot more raids may happen, and we will face it. We believe in the court and its judgements.Â
