BENGALURU: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Friday said there was no need for anyone to go to Delhi to lobby for him.
“I appeal to everyone not to go to Delhi to lobby for me. If you have personal requests or are aspiring for Cabinet positions, you can go to Delhi. But you don’t need to go to Delhi to bat for me,” Shivakumar, who is the state Congress chief, said.
Asked if the dinner meeting was a show of strength, he said, “No show of strength. Some MLAs travel abroad for leisure and study tours, some go to Delhi, and some meet for dinners. What they do for personal reasons has nothing to do with the party”.
When his attention was drawn to statements by some MLAs that they would like to see him as the CM, he said, “I don’t know about it. No one has personally spoken to me about it. Some have aspirations; it is natural for newcomers to aspire to become ministers. Dr G Parameshwara, HK Patil, Mahadevappa, Siddaramaiah, and I became ministers at a very young age. We are all old now. Newcomers are expressing their desire to become ministers. I will bring this to the attention of the party leaders in Delhi”.