Former Chief Minister of Karnataka on Monday said that the Karnataka election 2023 should not be seen as a battle between him and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said he is just a CM aspirant from the Congress as is state party president DK Shivakumar and that the outcome of the election will be decided by the people based on local issues.
"It is not a fight between myself and (PM) Narendra Modi. The Karnataka elections should not be seen as a PM Modi-Siddaramaiah battle. It is an election to elect the state legislature, not to elect Parliament members. Local issues will decide the outcome of the upcoming assembly elections," the former Karnataka CM told news agency PTI.
He attacked the BJP, saying no government establishment in Karnataka was free from corruption. "This is the most corrupt government. Every day, people of Karnataka see corruption. Wherever they go — be it the tehsildar's office, the agriculture department, or any government office — every day they see corruption. So, they are fed up with this government and want to throw it out of power," Siddaramaiah said.
He further said that caste is unlikely to play a big role in the Karnataka election 2023 as there are bigger problems plaguing the state. "See, it's just that caste is not an important factor in elections. The issues are important. Now, the issues are corruption issues, anti-farmer issues, price rise issues, and unemployment, and there are many other issues also. People of Karnataka will not consider caste as an important factor. If anybody makes it an issue, people will not consider it," he said.
Speaking about the Congress's CM face, Siddaramaiah said that healthy competition is not wrong. "Nothing is wrong if healthy competition exists. If DK Shivakumar wants to become CM and is an aspirant, there is nothing wrong. If I become an aspirant for the CM post, nothing is wrong. Ultimately, the newly elected MLAs and the [party] high command will take a decision on that," Siddaramaiah said.