Former chief minister B S Yediyurappa on Monday said Opposition Leader Siddaramaiah would not contest the Assembly polls from the Kolar constituency and was тАЬplaying a dramaтАЭ.
тАЬToday itself, I will say one thing, do not think IтАЩm making a prediction, I think Siddaramaiah will not contest from Kolar for any reason. He is playing a drama and is trying to go back to Mysuru,тАЭ Yediyurappa said.
Speaking to reporters here, the former chief minister said the Congress legislature party leader is aware that he would face a defeat and have to go home if he contests from Kolar.
тАЬHe is playing political circus and drama, according to me. He will not contest from there (Kolar) and may try to go back to Mysuru, if that happens we will do the strategy we need to,тАЭ he added.
Asked about talks that were doing rounds that Siddaramaiah may contest from two seats, Yediyurappa, a member of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)тАЩs top parliamentary board, said, тАЬI donтАЩt know about it. It is left to their party. Let him contest from two or three seats, but going home is certain.тАЭ
BJP national general secretary C T Ravi said on Monday that Pakistan would be safe for Congress leader Siddaramaiah to contest the polls as it suited the former Karnataka chief ministerтАЩs тАШтАЩmindsetтАЩтАЩ.
The Chikkamagaluru MLA took a dig at Siddaramaiah in response to a question about the former chief ministerтАЩs wish to contest from Kolar, touted to be a safe seat, in the forthcoming assembly polls.
тАЬIn my opinion, Pakistan is safe for him (Siddaramaiah),тАЭ Ravi said.
Speaking to reporters, Ravi said, тАЬFor his mindset, Pakistan is safe, as there is no (Prime Minister) Modi or (CM) Basavaraj Bommai or (former CM) Yediyurappa there. If he goes there, there will also be no D K Shivakumar (KPCC chief) or G Parameshwara (Congress leader) or Kharge (AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge) to trouble him there. So, Pakistan is safe.тАЩтАЭ
Leader of opposition and former Congress chief minister Siddaramaiah January 8 announced that he would contest elections from Kolar district if the partyтАЩs high command permitted.
Siddaramaiah is yet to react to YediyurappaтАЩs statement.
However, SiddaramaiahтАЩs office in a statement said that he has тАЬheld a rally in Kolar which was attended by over 60,000 party workersтАЭ and тАЬit shows his commitment towards his decision to contest from KolarтАЭ.
According to Congress party analysts, Kolar has been chosen by Siddaramaiah because of a mix of voters in the district.
тАЬKolar is a safe bet for Siddaramaiah as it will consolidate AHINDA votes in his favour, and Vokkaliga leaders of the party from the region also have pledged support to him,тАЭ analysts said.
AHINDA is a Kannada acronym that stands for тАШAlpasankhyataruтАЩ (minorities), тАШHindulidavaruтАЩ (Backward Classes) and тАШDalitaruтАЩ (Dalits).
(With PTI inputs)
