The occasion was the first visit of former Maharashtra Governor S M Krishna to KPCC office after being appointed as Chairman of the Election Management and Coordination Committee.    

Along with Krishna, prominent leaders such as Mallikarjun Kharge, N Dharam Singh, M V Rajashekhar Murthy, K H Muniyappa, Siddaramaiah and R V Deshpande appeared on a single platform sending a message of unity and strength to party workers. Incidentally it was also the first visit of Siddaramaiah after becoming Chairman of Campaign Committee.

The Congress workers were in a jubilant mood as Krishna’s visit to KPCC office coincided with the decision by the Election Commission to hold elections to the State Assembly in May.

They burst crackers, smeared gulal and danced in groups throwing traffic out of gear on busy Queen’s Road. The police personnel had a tough time in managing the traffic flow as enthusiastic Congress workers surged in front of the Congress Bhavan.

Speaking on the occasion Krishna called upon Congress leaders to sink their differences and work unitedly for the betterment of Congress.

“There is very little time left for elections; let us join hands. During the last three-and-a-half years very little development works have taken place in the state due to a fractured verdict given by the people. We have to send out a clear message to the people that we are ready to serve them honestly if brought back to power,” he stated.

Krishna took a dig at JD(S) for sacrificing its secular ideology for the sake of power.

Later at a press conference, Krishna stated that Congress would make a strong bid to form a single party government in the state. “This is because a coalition government is not in the interest of state people,” he argued.

Krishna stated that his party would approach people with definite programmes which could bring about improvement in their living conditions on a sustained basis. Siddaramaiah said that a stable government should be installed in state for achieving progress.

Appreciating Krishna for piloting the Fiscal Responsibility Act, Siddaramaiah said that because of that state could achieve fiscal discipline by 2005 itself. “But last year the state could not reach the targets in respect of commercial taxes and stamp duty due to bad fiscal management,” he added.

Ex- chief minister N Dharam Singh observed that arrival of Krishna has enthused the Congress party.