Lok Sabha Elections 2024 | 'Shut up': Shivakumar tells Congress MLAs not to discuss poll result publicly

Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Monday told Congress lawmakers to 'shut up' and publicly stop discussing party's performance in the Lok Sabha polls.

Some Congress lawmakers have started speaking up after the party ended up winning nine out of the 28 Lok Sabha segments in the state. While this was a gain from just one seat Congress won in 2019, the party was hoping to hit the double-digit mark and win at least 14 seats. The BJP won 17 seats and JD(S) two.

"It'll be good if MLAs shut up," Shivakumar, who is also Karnataka Congress president, said. The trigger for Shivakumar's diktat was Channagiri Congress MLA Basavaraju V Shivaganga's reported call for sacking of ministers who could not muster enough votes for the party in their constituencies.

Some MLAs have also called for the discontinuation of the 'guarantee' schemes as they failed to win enough votes for the Congress.

"We have to analyse and introspect on what went wrong, where and why. We want to do fact-finding. We must also find solutions. People have rang the alarm bell for us. We must buck up," Shivakumar said.

Apparently, the Congress high command asked the Shivakumar-led state unit to constitute a committee to review the party's performance in Karnataka. "They've told us...we're calling meetings...we're discussing," Shivakumar said.

Shivakumar said he was confident of winning 14-15 seats. "But we failed. People have given their verdict. Some leaders themselves couldn't muster votes in their constituencies," he said.

Shivakumar added that he had not received any complaint from senior leaders blaming party colleagues for party's under-performance. "There's no use. Those who had taken up responsibilities must answer. They should speak to party workers on what went wrong and come up with solutions," he said.

'No discussion on more deputies'

Meanwhile, Home Minister G Parameshwara on Monday said there are no discussions on appointing more deputy chief ministers. "There's no such thing. No discussions have taken place. Someone speaking about this won't it a party issue," he said.

Last week, Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi said the demand for more deputy CMs representing other communities was raised so that it would help the Congress in the election. "Now, elections are over and the results are out," he said, suggesting that the discussion is no longer relevant.

Lok Sabha Election 2024 results | Check all constituency results here

Odisha Assembly poll 2024 results| Check constituency results here

Andhra Pradesh Assembly poll 2024 results | Check constituency results here

Lok Sabha Elections 2024 | Narendra Modi's '400-paar' hopes faced stiff competition from Rahul Gandhi's I.N.D.I.A. in an election whose result came as a surprise. Track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

Assembly Elections 2024 | The polls in Sikkim saw an SKM landslide win, while Arunachal Pradesh saw BJP return, Andhra Pradesh welcomed TDP with a massive mandate, and Odisha saw BJP end BJD's stronghold. Subscribe and follow DH on Whatsapp, X, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram to never miss out on anything.