Cong will choose K'tka CM in its way: KC Venugopal amid buzz on DK-Siddaramaiah race

Bengaluru: All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K C Venugopal has said that the party will choose the next Chief Minister of Karnataka in its own method. He noted that the party needs the support of senior leader Siddaramaiah and state party chief D K Shivakumar in the future as they are the most valuable assets of Congress in Karnataka.

At the same time, he declined there were any plans to appoint both leaders as chief ministers for 2.5 years each.

Talking to Manorama News, Venugopal said the party's grassroots-level campaign against BJP's corruption helped Congress win.

"The victory in Karnataka assembly elections was a crucial one for Congress as well as India. I was worried about the present India under BJP. The saffron party has been using all central agencies for its political gains. BJP even used Election Commission against its opponents. I have been camping in Karnataka for almost a month. I have observed that no political parties are allowed to compete in the elections in a just and impartial manner,” Venugopal said.

He denounced Prime Minister Narendra Modi for alleging Congress had terrorist links.

"The PM asked the people of Karnataka to elect BJP for his sake. He tried to treat the state elections as a nationwide poll," said the Congress leader.

Expressing happiness on victory in the elections, he pointed out that the party won the elections as a reward for its hard work with proper planning.

“We were successful to uncover the corruption of the BJP government before the public in Karnataka. The party conducted five surveys to know the opinions and issues of the public. We prepared our election manifesto as per the findings in this survey. All efforts worked out well and helped the party to win an absolute majority in the elections,” said Venugopal.

KC slams CPM

Reacting to CPM Kerala secretary M V Govindan's comments that one election would not signal the return of the Congress, Venugopal said that the CPM's attacks on Congress in Kerala will only accelerate BJP's growth in the state.

On Saturday, Govindan said that Karnataka election results didn't indicate the Congress' comeback as the party alone cannot defeat the BJP in the country. Congress leader and former opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala also criticised Govindan for his comment and alleged that CPM always wanted BJP to win.