MYSURU: Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah on Sunday said that he will not contest from Chamundeshwari constituency in Mysuru in the 2023 Assembly elections. "I will work for the victory of the Congress candidate. 2023 will be my last electoral battle. I will not accept any positions, including Rajya Sabha memberships," he said at the Congress Bhavan here.
Siddaramaiah lost to JDS' GT Devegowda from Chamundeshwari in the 2018 polls. He, however, won from Badami by defeating BJP's Sriramulu. He said that while voters of Chamundeshwari defeated him, people of Badmi reposed faith in him and sent him to Vidhana Soudha in 2018.
"I campaigned in Badami for only two days. People of Chamundeshwari did not support me for all the development works I implemented there. People from Badami want me to contest from there in 2018. Many supporters from Kolar, Koppal and Hunsur have also invited me. I am contesting the election to bring back Congress to power. Our candidate should not be a victim of internal squabbling," he said.
Meanwhile, the meeting witnessed chaos as supporters of Siddaramaiah were divided on their leader contesting from Chamundeshwari. When former ZP president K Mari Gowda urged Siddaramaiah to contest from Chamundeshwari, former APMC president Basavaraju and others objected to this.
The meeting witnessed heated discussion when Basavaraju asked, "Why are you inviting when you ensured his defeat in 2018?" He urged Siddaramaiah not to contest from Chamundeshwari as they would conspire to defeat him again in 2023.