Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Dinesh Gundu Rao on Saturday said the party was confident of winning the maximum number of seats in the forthcoming elections to urban local bodies.
“We would also win the maximum number of ULBs by virtue of massive developmental works executed during the last five years by the Siddaramaiah government,” Mr. Rao told reporters here.
The party not getting maximum number of seats in the recently held Assembly elections was a different matter altogether, he said, adding the party’s vote share was 38%, i.e. 2% more than the BJP. All reasons for the party’s debacle cannot be discussed in the open. Having excelled in developmental and social sector fronts, there was not a single black mark on the government, he pointed out.
Besides undertaking developmental works on a large scale, which are still continuing to be executed, the previous Siddaramaiah government contributed a lot to social security schemes, including Anna Bhagya, which would steer the party to power in urban local bodies.
Cabinet expansion
Mr. Rao said vacancies in the State Cabinet would be filled soon after the elections to the ULBs, as also posts of chairmen in boards and corporations. ULB elections are a pointer to the party’s popularity even as Congress has accorded highest priority to the polls.
Coalition dharma
Asked to comment on Mr. Siddaramaiah’s reported statement that he desired to become Chief Minister again, Mr. Rao said such a desire was natural for every politician. The statement has nothing to do with the present coalition government, which would complete its five-year term as the Congress has given an undertaking to that effect. “We would follow the coalition dharma,” Mr. Rao said and asked the media not to attribute hundreds of meanings to Mr. Siddaramaiah’s words.
Lok Sabha polls
Responding to a question, Mr. Rao said the party is gearing up for the Lok Sabha elections. He felt selection of candidates alone cannot be the criteria to win the polls.
The party would go to the people highlighting the ‘failure’ of the NDA government on all fronts. Tall promises made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi four-and-a-half years ago have become hallow even as there was no development, no employment creation and no economic growth in the country, he claimed.
Mr. Rao defended party supremo Rahul Gandhi’s reported statements on Muslim brotherhood and said it was appropriate when Hindu right-wing fundamentalism was on the rise.
Minister U.T. Khader, MLCs Harish Kumar and Ivan D'Souza, Mayor Bhaskar Moily and others were present.