Top brass hasn’t ignored me: Siddaramaiah

Former chief minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday claimed that the Congress high command had not ignored him or his supporters.

He was speaking to reporters after offering a special puja at Banashankari temple on his maiden visit to Badami after his victory from this segment.

“Some of my close aides have been accommodated in the Cabinet. Representation in the Cabinet is given based on the party and not on personal choices,” he said. “The remaining six Cabinet berths (of the Congress quota) would be filled based on principles of social justice, caste and region. It is wrong to presume that the Congress has surrendered to the JD(S). The party joined hands with the JD(S) only to prevent communal forces coming to power.” Siddaramaiah maintained that nobody could destroy the Congress party, which had a long and rich history.

Siddaramaiah had contested from Badami and Chamundeshwari in Mysuru. He defeated BJP’s Sriramulu by 1,696 votes in Badami, but lost to the JD(S) candidate
G T Deve Gowda by a huge margin of 36,042 votes in Chamundeshwari.

He said JD(S) and BJP leaders came together and defeated him in Chamundeshwari, while addressing local residents at Jammanakatti village in Badami taluk to thank them for electing him as their MLA.

“No chief minister in the past had worked like me in a period of five years. Some elements could not digest the fact that I was the chief minister and hence plotted my defeat,” he said.

“However, voters in Badami did not let me down. I will visit the constituency once a month. As I am a former chief minister, there is a better opportunity for me to develop the constituency,” he said.

“Despite hard work, people did not support me which is painful. However, in democracy we should respect people’s verdict,” Siddaramaiah said.