JD (S) supremo H D Deve Gowda is yet to select a candidate to fight against his one time party colleague Siddaramaiah in Varuna constituency. But even Siddaramaiah is not a relaxed man. He knows election is a battle field and he cannot take his opponents for granted.

Siddaramaiah, a new entrant to the Congress, is now working in a different environment. He had sought ticket for his 25 supporters. But all have not been given ticket by the high command. On the record he says he is not unhappy. He is all set to file nominations on April 23, the last date to file the papers.

In an interaction with Asha Krishnaswamy of Deccan Herald, Siddaramaiah had this to say on Monday...

DH: Are you happy with the number of tickets given to your followers?

Siddaramaiah: There is no question of being happy or unhappy. Some of those who were earlier with the AIPJD and joined the Congress, failed to get ticket. We cannot do much. But they have not turned into rebels. All aspirants cannot get ticket. I will console those who failed to get ticket.

Do you think the Congress has adopted a scientifc method to evaluate aspirants before giving tickets?

Winnability is the only criteria. The party is of the view that whoever have been given ticket, will win.

How do you find working with the Congress, especilly now?

In the Congress, final decision is taken by the high command in Delhi. Of course, our opinion is also taken before arriving at final decision. In Janata Dal, the decisions were taken at the state-level. All parties including the BJP leaves the final decision to high command.

There is so much dicontent over ticket distribution in the Congress. Will it affect the polls prospects of the Party?

No. The Congress will get at least simple majority and form the government. The BJP will be in the second place and the JD (S) will be poor third. The BSP will open account in some constituencies.

S M Krishna’s decision to keep off from contesting will have any adverse effect on the Party’s electoral fortunes?

I don’t know why Krishna is not contesting. But there is no question of set back to the Party. He is going to work for the party.

You are a party hopper. In the last by-elections though you won, the going was tough. Are you on a safe ground this time?

Last time, the ruling coalition misused its authority and troubled me a lot. This time no such situation. I am confident of winning. But elections are after all elections.

The JD (S) is yet to finalise a candidate to taken on you...

Let it take time... Let the sons of Gowda contest. I am ready for the battle.

Why do you think people should vote for you? What would be your winning margin this time?

The Congress alone can give a stable government. We can rule for full five years if we come to power.
I cannot say by how much margin I will win. I am contesting elections for the tenth time. Twice I contested Parliament polls and lost. I have won the assembly elections five times and lost twice.


HE IS AN UNHAPPY MAN

 Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Monday reportedly expressed his unhappiness over the selection of candidates of his party with his close confidants.

Siddaramaiah, who heads the Party’s campaign committee, held a meeting with Ahinda leaders. He reportedly told the meeting that the party has not given tickets as per his wish list. It would be difficult to bring the party to power, he said.

The meeting was attended by C M Ibrahim, H C Mahadevappa,  P Kodandaramaiah among others.
The Party has committed blunders in selecting the candidates. The Party’s performance in the polls would depend on the selection of candidates for the next two phases, Siddaramaiah told the meeting. He also told the leaders that he had submitted one more list of candidates of his choice to the Party.