People junked my govt’s programmes: Siddaramaiah

Former chief minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday broke his silence on the Congress’ defeat in the recent Assembly elections and said people had “rejected” his government and its programmes.

“People rejected our (Congress) government. They did not accept our programmes,” he told reporters. “I have accepted the people’s decision.”

Siddaramaiah has remained aloof ever since the Congress was reduced to 78 seats from the thumping 122 it won in the 2013 elections.

Siddaramaiah was the party’s face and was tasked with leading the party in the polls. His election narrative was based on the development agenda on the back of several populist and welfare schemes rolled out during his tenure. However, in his own words, people were not receptive. He also announced that he was not in the race to become the KPCC president. “Senior leaders in the party will decide on who should be selected. But I’m not interested,” he said when asked about his name doing the rounds for the post, which is currently held by Deputy Chief Minister
G Parameshwara.

Siddaramaiah’s name, along with those of other party leaders K H Muniyappa, Dinesh Gundu Rao, M B Patil, Satish Jarkiholi and B K Hariprasad, is doing the rounds for the post of KPCC president, which will gain significance ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Parameshwara has expressed his willingness to step down as KPCC president, a post he has held for eight years.

Jarkiholi meets CM

Disgruntled Congress leader Satish Jarkiholi met Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Saturday. “I met him to discuss both politics and the development of Belagavi district. The CM said he’ll consider a special package for the Belagavi City Corporation in the budget,” Jarkiholi said. He reiterated his stand that he would continue to mount pressure on the Congress to accommodate his MLA friends into the Cabinet, boards and corporations. “I’ll not become a minister even if they offer it, but let’s see. They’ve said the next phase (of Cabinet expansion) will be after two years. Till then, I’ll work towards strengthening the party.”