BENGALURU: Though the Congress won the Davanagere South Assembly bypoll, the margin of victory has reduced due to a shift in Muslim votes towards the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), and the party will probe this, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said here on Tuesday.
He told reporters that Muslim votes fell from around 56,000 in 2023 to 35,000 this time. The party will probe the issue and take action. Siddarmaiah also defended KPCC President DK Shivakumar’s action against Congress leaders Abdul Jabbar and Naseer Ahmed, who were suspended.
He said in the previous bypolls, the Congress won all three assembly segments and has now won both seats. This means people have accepted us and our programmes have reached them. “Our guarantee schemes have made people accept us, we did what we promised,” he stated. He also reminded that BJP leaders had said the Davanagere South and Bagalkot bypoll result would indicate who will come to power in 2028. “We have won and will return in 2028,” he said.
On election results of other states, Siddaramaiah said anti-incumbency was evident in West Bengal. “For us, the Tamil Nadu result was not expected. People there wanted change and voted for change,’’ he said. The Kerala result was anticipated, as were the two bypoll seats in Karnataka.
Asked about the cabinet reshuffle, he said the party high command will take a decision, and he would go to Delhi only when called. He said aspirants seeking cabinet berths is not wrong. The CM also claimed that he was not aware of party leaders’ remarks suggesting that AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge should become the chief minister.
Asked about DK Shivakumar aspiring to become CM, Siddaramaiah said there is nothing wrong in it.