Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has won three successive terms of the Lok Sabha from Amethi.Months after the BJP claimed that Congress president Rahul Gandhi was considering to contest the upcoming 2019 general elections from Karnataka, apart from Amethi, former chief minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday dismissed the claims. “Party is ready and prepared, no such proposal that Rahul Gandhi will contest from Karnataka in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, he will contest from Amethi only,” Siddaramaiah was quoted as saying by ANI.
Senior BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa had claimed in August that the Congress chief was looking for option ahead of the general elections and could consider Bidar in Karnataka as a possible seat. However he would not be able to win any election in Karnataka “as he lacks the ability to deliver,” the former CM had said.
“Let him (Gandhi) contest from there (Amethi). People will decide his fate based on his contribution to Amethi, which is actually nil,” he added. However, Deputy CM G Parameshwara had also dispelled the speculations saying, “Just because Rahul Gandhi addressed a public rally in Bidar does not mean he is going to contest from there.”
It is to be mentioned that the Amethi seat has been a stronghold for the Congress and Gandhi has won three successive terms of the Lok Sabha from the constituency.
The denial from Siddaramaiah comes just days after DMK chief MK Stalin suggested the name of Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate for the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) led by the Congress. “I propose Rahul Gandhi as PM. I urge other leaders present here to stand with me on this. We should support Rahul,” he said. Taking a dig at the PM, Stalin said under the leadership of Modi, the country had gone back 15 years.
