BENGALURU: Congress leader and former minister K N Rajanna on Thursday said Chief Minister D K Shivakumar’s influence alone cannot determine the Vokkaliga vote in Karnataka, asserting that voters continue to look towards JDS patriarch and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda.
“People don’t just vote by looking at Shivakumar; they vote looking at Deve Gowda. Now that he is here, because our man is in power, officials or voters might show a little inclination and bring in an extra five per cent votes, I won’t deny that. But they need to bring winning votes,” Rajanna told a private TV channel.
Speaking about the importance of former chief minister Siddaramaiah to the Congress, Rajanna said: “If anyone brings votes to the Congress, it is Siddaramaiah. Siddaramaiah brings votes for Congress, Yediyurappa brings votes for BJP and Deve Gowda brings votes for JDS based on their community support. These are the three people in this state who can do that.”
“If Siddaramaiah is strong, the Congress is strong; if Siddaramaiah is weak, the Congress is weak. That’s all,” he added.
Rajanna said he was only speaking about what he considered the ground reality and accepted that his remarks could be interpreted differently.