Never said will contest from Badami, claims CM Siddaramaiah

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday claimed he had never said he would contest from Badami constituency in Bagalkot district.

The chief minister said his contest from a second seat was only media speculation.

He was speaking to reporters at the Mysore Airport in Mandakalli near here.

“The people of Badami had requested me to contest from the segment. I have faced nearly 12 elections, but I have never contested from two constituencies. I will contest from Chamundeshwari seat only and file the nomination papers on April 20,” he said.

“When H D Kumaraswamy was chief minister, he campaigned against me in the 2008 by-election, but failed to defeat me in the constituency,” he said. The chief minister said that in a democratic set-up, it was the people who decide their choice in elections.

“Neither Kumaraswamy nor me have kept the votes in our pockets,” Siddaramaiah said.