Siddaramaiah will lose from both Chamundeshwari and Badami: Kumaraswamy

It was confirmed on Saturday (April 14) that Siddaramaiah would contest from both Chamundeshwari and Badami.

Terming the opinion polls as "inaccurate" and "manufactured", JD (S) state president H D Kumaraswamy has said that Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who is contesting elections from Chamudeshwari and Badami constituencies, would lose from both seats.

Kumaraswamy also called Siddaramaiah as an "egoistic leader" who tried to finish the JD (S). It must be recalled that Siddaramaiah was once in JD (S) and switched to Congress after differences with party chief HD Deve Gowda.

"We will definitely defeat Siddaramaiah this time. He will lose from both Chamundeshwari and Badami," a News 18 report quoted Kumaraswamy as saying.

It was confirmed on Saturday (April 14) that Siddaramaiah would contest from both Chamundeshwari and Badami. He would file his nomination from Chamundeshwari on April 20 and from Badami on April 23. The reason behind this is that Chamundeshwari is seen as an unsafe seat for the CM. A loss would mean that he would not longer be in contention for the CM's chair even if the Congress were to win the elections. Secondly in Badami there is a strong Kuruba population which would help him win with ease.

On a recent opinion poll which predict a hung assembly in the state with Congress likely to get most seats, Kumaraswamy said, "We don't believe in these surveys. They are all manufactured to suit the interests of the Congress and the BJP. No survey favours us. In 2004, these surveys gave us just two seats. But we won 58 seats and formed two coalition governments. There will be no fractured mandate. It will be our government. I will not be a 'kingmaker'. I will be a king and we will come to power."

If the predictions of India Today-Karvy opinion polls are to be believed then Karnataka is heading for a hung assembly in the elections scheduled to be held on May 12. According to the India Today opinion poll, the Congress is likely to bag anywhere between 90-101 seats, while the BJP may bag between 78-86 seats. The JD (S) may win between 34-43 seats while the others may win around 4-7 seats.