In an attempt to galvanise votes in the name of region and language, Congress is strategising to contest the Assembly elections in Karnataka due early next year by invoking ‘Kannadiga pride’.
He also declared that Congress will go alone in the polls. The party will give job reservations to the people of the State and reduce the influence of Hindi speaking (read North Indians) in the jobs sector. Former Chief Minister K Siddaramiah said if the Congress comes back to power there will be domicile-based reservation in Class III and IV Government jobs for Kannadigas.
“We shall go to voters vowing to re-establish the Kannadiga pride and expose the ruling BJP which is imposing Hindi at the behest of the RSS.
We are in a very good and there is no question of partnering with any other political party for the elections,” Siddaramaiah said in an exclusive interview with The Pioneer. He was in the national Capital to discuss election strategy with former Congress President Rahul Gandhi. Siddaramiah was accompanied by Karnataka Congress president D. K. Shivakumar—both contenders for the Chief Minister’s post.
To a question on whether he will be the CM's face, Siddaramiah said it will be decided by the elected party legislators and approved by the high command.
“There is no tussle, no faction or frictions and Congress will give a resounding victory in the state and wrest power from the incumbent corrupt BJP government which itself was formed by very dubious means,” said the Leader of Opposition in Karnataka assembly.
Siddaramaiah argued that the BJP Government in the State is run by Delhi and is seeking to indirectly impose Hindi and Hindutva on Karnataka. To drive this campaign, Congress is planning to resurrect the 1984 Sarojini Mahishi report, which recommends a certain percentage of jobs to Kannadigas in public sector undertakings, private companies, and multinational companies.
“The BJP Government at the Centre and the State are taking away the jobs of Kannadigas. What did Prime Minister Narendra Modi do? He merged four Karnataka-based banks — State Bank of Mysore, Syndicate Bank, Vijaya Bank, and Corporation Bank to steal jobs from Kannadigas,” Siddaramaiah added.
As part of its election manifesto the party will also announce holding a caste-based census that was carried out during his tenure but since then has been put in a cold basket. Commenting on the current political scenario, Siddaramiah said BJP has fanned communal tension to divert attention from its failure and keep the political narrative focused around “ hijab, halal, and azaan”.
On the alliance structure, Siddaramiah asserted that there is no need of any alliances as Congress is in a very strong position, and the only thing it lacked is “good marketing”.
The former CM blamed the Janata Dal (S) and its leadership for backstabbing Congress. “We always supported them. Even in the RÃ jya Sabha elections, Congress did not field any candidate to pave the way for JDS patriarch HD Deve Gowda to get into the upper house. Still, they let us down on every occasion.”