'Congress will win at least 141 seats, will abide by party's decision on CM'

Karnataka Congress chief D K Shivakumar Saturday exuded confidence that his party would win at least 141 seats in the May 10 assembly polls and asserted that he would abide by whatever the party decides on the issue of chief ministershipIn an interview with PTI Shivakumar said the Congress will get a comfortable majority in Karnataka and the win would open the doors for the Lok Sabha elections as the partys victory in the state in 1978 had doneThe Karnataka Congress chief lashed out at the BJP for raising issues such as the Uniform Civil Code and National Register of Citizens in its manifesto for the assembly polls saying it shows their bankruptcy of ideas and vision for the stateHe also claimed that since the BJP has no agenda and vision for Karnataka the Modi factor will not work in the assembly polls this timeAlso Read Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai rejects opinion polls giving Congress an edgeShivakumar who is a leading aspirant for the chief ministers post along with former CM Siddarammaiah in case the Congress comes to power said all stories of infighting in the party are created by media and there is no truth in themThe fact is that the Congress leadership is united and the party workers are very active in spreading our message both on the ground and in social media We are putting a combined effort to ensure that the Congress comes back to power with a clear majority he assertedOn him being a strong contender for the post of chief minister Shivakumar said his first priority was to ensure that the party wins a majority in KarnatakaFor the last three years the Congress party has been working on the ground starting from the Vaccinate Karnataka Campaign to the 100 Not Out Campaign followed by Mekedatu Campaign to Freedom March and registering 78 lakh members of the Congress party Then we made the Bharat Jodo Yatra a grand success in Karnataka he saidCongress leaders and workers have not taken rest for a single day in the last three years he said adding that whatever is being seen now is the faith of people that the partys hard work has wonFor me the party comes first and the chief ministership comes later On the CM issue I will abide by whatever the party decides Shivakumar saidAsked about the controversy surrounding the Congress manifesto talking about taking decisive action as per law including imposing a ban on organizations such as PFI and Bajrang Dal Shivakumar alleged that the BJP was trying to divide the societyThe BJP government could not provide jobs to our youth They failed to provide any relief to the common man when it came to inflation and price rise Now they are trying to divide the society by inflammatory speeches he allegedThis will not work in Karnataka and people will sweep them aside he claimedAsked about Karnataka being the gateway to the south for the BJP Shivakumar said the people of Karnataka have closed the gate on the BJPs face because of nonperformance corruption and largescale unemployment in the statePeople are supporting Congress in a big way and the party is coming back to power he claimedAsked about the BJP in its election manifesto promising to implement the Uniform Civil Code and the National Register of Citizens in Karnataka if it retains power in the state Shivakumar said this is precisely the problem of the BJPThey do not understand Karnataka and its people the Congress leader allegedKarnataka Assembly elections are being fought on local issues The BJP which could not deliver on any front during its governance has also failed to give a narrative in these elections This shows their bankruptcy of ideas and vision for the state he saidAsked about Prime Minister Modi raising the issue of abuses hurled at him the Congress leader said the people of Karnataka are very civilized and they do not believe in using and even responding to crude languageThe Congress party too does not believe in using abusive language It is the BJP that has mastered the art of twisting the statements and manipulating the people he allegedOn whether the Modi factor will work this time Shivakumar said the Congress is fighting these elections on a progressive and developmentbased agendaWe will provide Rs 2000 per month to every woman head of the family 200 units of free power to every household apart from free bus travel for women in KSRTCBMTC buses and a monthly allowance of Rs 3000 to unemployed graduatesAs I said the BJP has no agenda and vision for the state and people can very well see this So the Modi factor will not work this time in these assembly polls he saidExpressing confidence that the Congress would cross the 140seat mark Shivakumar said We will win at least 141 seats and form government with a comfortable majority The BJP will be reduced to less than 60 seatsOn the message that would be sent out through the Karnataka polls for the 2024 general election he said Karnataka was just the beginningWe are comfortably winning Karnataka elections and it will open the doors for the Lok Sabha elections Karnataka people will give a message to the country Earlier also at the time of Devraj Urs former chief minister when the Janata Party was in power at the national level in 1978 Karnataka had opened the door for Congress Now again Karnataka will play its role Shivakumar saidWe will form a government in Karnataka in 2023 and in the country in 2024 said Shivakumar who is contesting from KanakapuraSeventime MLA Shivakumar has been elected thrice from Kanakapura since 2008 and is now seeking reelection for the fourth time from thereHe had earlier won four consecutive elections since 1989 from the nearby Sathanur till he shifted to the Kanakapura in 2008 after that constituency ceased to exist as the result of a delimitation exerciseVoting for the 224 assembly seats in the state will take place on May 10 and the results will be out on May 13This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its 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