D K Shivakumar's promise to Bengaluru sets off speculation again

After Siddaramaiah's birthday bash at Davangere last month, Shivakumar publicly projected himself as a 'Vokkaliga CM'

Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar's personal promise to the citizens of Bengaluru that he would restore Bengaluru's glory has ended up in political tittle-tattle and is seen as his bid to project himself as the party's chief ministerial face.

"Bengaluru's serious flooding problem is being reduced to memes on social media should make us hang our heads in shame. Once hailed for infrastructure, Bengaluru has been reduced to a joke. Come 2023, I promise to put an end to all this & restore Namma Bengaluru to its former glory," Shivakumar asserted in a tweet.

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The tweet had a screenshot of a news article on Bengaluru's flood situation in The Washington Post.

This could be viewed as Shivakumar's continuing attempt to pitch himself as the CM face should the Congress win the 2023 Assembly election, putting him up against Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah who is also eyeing a second chance at the top job.

After Siddaramaiah's massive 75th birthday bash at Davangere last month, Shivakumar publicly projected himself as a "Vokkaliga CM".

In May 2021, the Karnataka Congress’ official Twitter handle tweeted that the Covid-19 pandemic would have been under control if Shivakumar was the CM. The tweet was deleted, but not before ticking off the Siddaramaiah camp.