Siddaramaiah behind JDS-Congress government's fall in 2019: ex-Minister

Siddaramaiah was responsible for the fall of the JDS-Congress government in 2019, claimed Dr K Sudhakar, who is one of the 11 BJP Ministers who suffered defeat in the May 10 Karnataka elections. Sudhakar's statement on Twitter came at a time when the Congress high command is facing a tough challenge to pick the Karnataka CM following a tug-of-war between Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar.

Bengaluru (Karnataka) : Former Karnataka Minister and BJP leader Dr K Sudhakar dropped a political bombshell by claiming that former CM Siddaramaiah was the reason for the collapse of the JDS-Congress government in 2019. In a statement on Twitter, Sudhakar asked whether Siddaramaiah can deny the fact that he had no role in the move by the Congress MLAs at that time.

Dr K Sudhakar is one of the 11 BJP Ministers who suffered defeat in the May 10 Karnataka elections. His latest statement came at a time when the Congress high command is considering Siddaramaiah as one of the two main choices for the Karnataka CM post. The timing of Sudhakar's statement is also seen as a tactical move by the former Minister to hurt the chances of Siddaramaiah who is facing tough competition from the Vakkaliga leader and KPCC president D K Shivakumar in the race for the CM post.

• Ultimately some of us had to inevitably quit Congress and go back to the people in bypolls, to protect the karyakartas and supporters in our constituencies.
  
  Can Shri Siddaramaiah deny the fact that he had no role, implicitly or explicitly, in this move by Congress MLAs?
  
  3/3

  — Dr Sudhakar K (@mla_sudhakar) May 17, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="

  Ultimately some of us had to inevitably quit Congress and go back to the people in bypolls, to protect the karyakartas and supporters in our constituencies.
  
  Can Shri Siddaramaiah deny the fact that he had no role, implicitly or explicitly, in this move by Congress MLAs?
  
  3/3

  — Dr Sudhakar K (@mla_sudhakar) May 17, 2023

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  Ultimately some of us had to inevitably quit Congress and go back to the people in bypolls, to protect the karyakartas and supporters in our constituencies.
  
  Can Shri Siddaramaiah deny the fact that he had no role, implicitly or explicitly, in this move by Congress MLAs?
  
  3/3

  — Dr Sudhakar K (@mla_sudhakar) May 17, 2023

Incidentally, K Sudhakar was among those who were with Congress when the coalition government fell after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He recalled how Siddaramaiah, before the 2019 collapse, used to express his helplessness whenever MLAs went to him with their concerns. Sudhakar said that Siddaramaiah used to assure MLAs to wait till the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and come what may he would not allow HD Kumaraswamy-led govt to continue even for a single day later.

On its part, the Congress high command is weighing all options before it and not hastening to decide on the Karnataka CM candidate. With the 2024 Lok Sabha elections just a year away, the grand old party does not want to ruffle the feelings of any community at this juncture. Former CM Siddaramaiah made a strong bid for CM chair by reaching Delhi and starting consultations with the party's high command. Whereas, Vokkaliga leader Shivakumar also reached Delhi and staked a strong claim, saying that he had the support of even the Lingayat seers. Siddaramaiah hails from the Kuruba community.