E-Paper
‘Congress, JD(S) have a common goal to defeat communal BJP’: Siddaramaiah
Former Karnataka chief minister and Congress leader, Siddaramaiah, spoke to HT about the prospects of the coalition.
Karnataka’s ruling Congress-Janata Dal (Secular), or JD (S), alliance announced on March 14 a seat-sharing deal for the state’s 28 Lok Sabha seats after two months of negotiations. The deal was sealed after the Congress gave up its claim on the Tumakuru seat, which was one of nine seats the party won in 2014. Former Karnataka chief minister and Congress leader, Siddaramaiah, spoke to HT about the prospects of the coalition. Edited excerpts:
How do you plan to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has had the upper hand in Karnataka over the last three Lok Sabha elections?
The people will vote based on what the [Prime Minister] Narendra Modi government promised and what it has delivered. He [Modi] has failed on all counts and has betrayed the people. Unemployment, farm distress, violence against women, Dalits and minorities… On none of these issues has he even spoken, leave alone trying to find solutions. We will expose these failures.
How united is the Congress- JD(S) coalition on ground to take on the BJP?
There are minor irritations here and there because in the Old Mysuru region [southern Karnataka] we fight against each other from the gram panchayat level. But we can resolve these issues.
How will your public spats with former Prime Minister and JD (S) leader, HD Deve Gowda, in the past impact your joint campaigning?
There are no personal differences… [We] only [have had] political differences. Our enemy is the BJP because it is communal, and it is the aim of both of us to defeat it.
Did you insist on getting Mysuru and not Tumakuru?
No. They insisted that they be given Mysuru or Tumakuru. [Congress president] Rahul Gandhi also said give them one of the two. So Tumakuru had to be given up.
Is Mysuru a prestige battle for you? You lost the assembly elections from Mysuru’s Chamundeshwari last year.
No. In the eight segments of the Mysuru Parliamentary constituency, we had the highest vote share compared to the other two parties. The Congress has won the seat 13 out of 16 times. In the assembly elections, too, our vote share was higher. We lost by only 32,000 votes in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. So, we will definitely win (this time).
The combined vote share of the alliance is higher than the BJP, but that of the JD(S) declines in Parliamentary elections. How will you benefit from this?
Elections are lost primarily by margins of 20,000 to 40,000. Very few seats are won by margins of over a lakh. When we unite, we can win all 28 seats.
How do you react to BJP leaders, who say JD(S) voters support the BJP in Lok Sabha polls?
There is no such thing. This might have happened last time because we had been in government for 10 years. There was anti-incumbency and people voted for change thinking that they should give Modi a chance. This time, the people can see through the illusions.
We cannot compare this election with the previous one. The BJP will lose… and a [Congress-led] UPA [United Progressive Alliance] government will be formed at the Centre. Rahul Gandhi will definitely become the Prime Minister.
Were you asked to contest the Lok Sabha polls?
The party never asked me and neither have I expressed any interest. I have never had any interest in moving to national politics.
Do you agree with some Congress leaders that the JD(S) should have been allotted six seats?
Initially, we had discussed six seats but they asked for eight. Rahul Gandhi also told us to reach an agreement... we decided on eight because we did not want to break the alliance.
