‘Many times stood with…’: DKS on reports of row with Siddaramaiah over CM post

Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar on Sunday ruled out any difference with Siddaramaiah, also a frontrunner in the race for the chief minister’s post.

“Some people say that I have differences with Siddaramaiah but I want to clear that there is no difference between us. Many times I have sacrificed for the party and stood with Siddaramaiah ji. I have given cooperation to Siddaramaiah”, Shivakumar said.

The race to the Karnataka chief minister’s post has heated up after the Congress victory in the state. The supporters of both the leaders have been engaged in poster war ahead of the Congress Legislative Party meeting this evening.

The Congress has appointed Sushil Kumar Shinde, Jitendra Singh and Deepak Babaria as the observers to oversee the election of the leader of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP).

On Saturday, Congress marked a return to power in Karnataka, ousting the Bharatiya Janata Party from power from its only citadel in the south. With a vite share of 42.88 per cent, the grand old party bagged 135 out of 224 seats which is more than the magic figure of 113.

It is the Congress’ best performance in the state since 1999 when the party had won 132 seats. In the 2018 elections, the Congress had won 80 seats and got a vote share of 38 per cent.

The Congress swept the Old Mysuru, Mumbai Karnataka, Hyderabad Karnataka and Central Karnataka regions. The BJP managed to retain its hold only in Coastal Karnataka while it was a mixed bag in Bengaluru.

The victory in Karnataka is a boost for the Congress ahead of the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh later this year.