Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said that he would contest the assembly elections from Chamundeshwari constituency in Mysuru.
"I will contest from Chamundeshwari. I will win with the blessings of people from Chamundeshwari," he told reporters in response to a question in Mysuru.
Siddaramaiah was reacting to JDS state president HD Kumaraswamy expressing scepticism over his contesting from the constituency.
Hitting out at Kumaraswamy, the Chief Minister said, "Does Kumaraswamy know how many times I have contested from Chamundeshwari constituency...seven times. I won five times. I have complete faith and belief in my voters...they won’t listen to Kumaraswamy or any one," he said while reminding about support he got in the toughest by-elections held in 2006.
Siddaramaiah had won the by-election on a Congress ticket with a wafer thin margin of 257 votes against JD(S)’s candidate in one of the bitterest poll battles in the state. The results then were crucial for Siddaramaiah to score political points over his bete noire JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda, after being expelled from the party.
Speaking to reporters, Kumaraswamy had predicted Siddaramaiah's loss if he contests from Chamundeshwari. "If he (Siddaramaiah) contests from Chamundeshwari, write it down today itself, when election results are declared on May 15, wherever I'm, I will come down to Mysuru to discuss with you about his defeat," he had said.
Kumaraswamy had claimed that the Chief Minister was looking for safe constituencies to contest like Narasimharaja in Mysuru.
Siddaramaiah, who represents Varuna in Mysuru after it became a constituency in 2008 following delimitation, has now expressed his intentions to contest from Chamundeshwari once again.
Making his debut in the Assembly in 1983, Siddaramaiah got elected from Chamundeshwari on a Lok Dal Party ticket, from where he has won five times and tasted defeat twice.
Speculation is rife that the Chief Minister, who has already indicated that the 2018 assembly polls could "most likely" be his last election, is keen on fielding his son Dr Yatindra from Varuna.
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