Venugopal meets Siddaramaiah & Shivakumar ahead of bypolls

Bengaluru, Oct 16 Congress General Secretary and Congress MP K.C. Venugopal held an important meeting with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Wednesday in Bengaluru at the Chief Minister’s residence Cauvery.

Sources explained that the Congress General Secretary has ordered Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar to secure all three Assembly seats to which bypolls are held in the state.

During a discussion with Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, Venugopal gave a clear directive to win all three seats in the upcoming by-elections to overcome the setback suffered in the Lok Sabha elections in which the Congress has only managed to win nine out of 28 Lok Sabha seats.

Sources explained that Venugopal further stated that under no circumstances should the by-elections be taken lightly. Winning the seats of Shiggaon, Channapatna, and Sandur should be the goal. Venugopal also insisted that at no point should we lose focus, sources added.

He further instructed that ministers be assigned specific responsibilities for each of the three constituencies. "Deploy influential ministers and MLAs in all three constituencies and ensure that the party's organisational strength is utilised effectively to win the elections," Venugopal told both the leaders.

He also emphasised the need to identify winning candidates and instructed the party to send the list of potential candidates as soon as possible.

Sources also explained that Venugopal reiterated the significance of unity and solidarity between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar at the crucial juncture amid the allegations of the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam and the Valmiki Tribal Welfare Development Board against the Congress government and BJP targeting Siddaramaiah.

Venugopal also expressed happiness over reining in of the leaders who used to issue statements on change of guard in the state.

The bypolls will be held on November 13. The results will be announced on November 23. The last date for filing nominations is October 25 and the final date for withdrawal is October 30.

Ensuring victory is crucial for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who is facing an investigation by the Lokayukta and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam.

Winning all three segments is crucial for the NDA alliance in the state to keep the momentum against the Congress going in the state. The Congress previously held one of the seats (Sandur). The BJP (Shiggaon) and JD-S (Channapatna) held one seat each.

The by-election results are also crucial for the State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar, Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, BJP MLA and mining baron Janardhana Reddy. It's also crucial for BJP State President B.Y. Vijayendra.

Source: IANS