I Am Not Happy...: Why Shivakumar Asked Congress Cadre To Not Come To His Or Siddaramaiah's House

A day after taking oath as Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, DK Shivakaumar said he is not ‘happy’ after Congress’ landslide victory in the recently concluded Assembly election as the party must fight well in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in 2024.

With Shivakumar as Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president, the party scored a resounding victory in the May 10 elections with 135 seats in the 224-member Assembly, as he appeared to be “the man of the moment”.

“We got over 135 seats in the Assembly elections, but I am not happy, don’t come to my or Siddaramaiah’s house. Our next target is the Lok Sabha elections and we must fight well,” Shivakumar said addressing party cadre in Bengaluru, according to news agency ANI.

Earlier in the day, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah along with Shivakumar paid their tribute to former PM Rajiv Gandhi on his 32nd death anniversary, in the KPCC office in Bengaluru.

Speaking on the occasion, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah said, “PM Modi speaks about terrorism, no one from BJP has ever lost their life due to terrorism. BJP keeps saying that we support terrorism but many Congress leaders like Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi died in terror attacks.”

Shivakumar is known as the “troubleshooter” of the Congress. The 61-year-old eight-time MLA, whose organising skills earned him full praise by the party central leadership particularly in the recent high-stakes polls, put up a spirited fight to bag the coveted post but had to settle for the deputy Chief Minister’s post.

The Congress counted on Shivakumar, who is fondly called ‘Kanakapura bande (rock)’ by his supporters, when it wanted to keep its flock together during the time when the then Maharashtra Chief Minister late Vilasrao Deshmukh faced the trust vote, and Ahmed Patel was contesting Rajya Sabha elections in Gujarat.

A strong Vokkaliga face, Congress is relying on him for improving the party’s performance in upcoming Lok Sabha polls. He will also continue as the party’s Karnataka state president till the Parliamentary elections are over.

(With PTI Inputs)