TUMAKURU: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Dr G Parameshwara turned emotional on Saturday, recalling that he lost the chance of becoming the state’s chief minister thrice after losing from Koratagere in the 2013 Assembly elections.
Dr Parameshwara, who was considered a frontrunner for the top post, was the president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee in 2013. The Congress wrested power from the BJP and formed the government under Siddaramaiah.
In a casual talk with the staff of Siddhartha Engineering College, which he owns, Dr Parameshwara said that if he had won the 2013 polls from Koratagere, Siddaramaiah would not have become the CM. The video, which was shot on Saturday, went viral on Monday.
“I came into politics by accident. Now I have 40 years of experience. I have earned people’s love because I have worked for them. Otherwise, neither the people nor the party would have recognised me,” he said. “I lost the 2013 elections. Maybe if I had won, Siddaramaiah would not have become the CM. I don’t know what my destiny is,” the home minister added.
Dr Parameshwara said he could not become the CM even after the Congress won 80 seats in the 2018 polls. “We had won 80 seats. We entered into an alliance with the JDS that had won 30 seats. For some reason, Kumaraswamy became the CM. I lost the CM post for the second time,” he elaborated.
Siddaramaiah became the CM after the 2023 Assembly elections. “When the issue of changing the CM came up this year, I tried for the CM’s chair. I was confident of becoming the CM. At one point, I even told the high command that I would go back (to look after his educational institutions) if I was not made the CM.
As the political atmosphere changes, decisions also change. So, now they have given me the Deputy CM’s post. It is a responsible post,” he added.