Exit polls can go wrong, BS Yediyurappa may have to quit, says Siddaramaiah
Hubballi: Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah remained upbeat on Friday despite the exit polls that have given the Yediyurappa government the seats it needs these bypolls to remain in power for the rest of its term.
Asserting that the Congress would win a larger number of seats than predicted, he pointed out that the outcome of the recent elections in Maharashtra and Haryana had proved their exit polls wrong.
“I am not saying that Chief Minister Yediyurappa will definitely go home after the byelection results are declared. But there is a chance that he may resign as the Congress will win more seats. Exit polls arrive at their estimation of the results by simply standing outside booths. Have all such surveys proved correct? Let us wait till December 9 to know the results,” he said, speaking to reporters in Badami. Stressing that he had never said that he would become CM again after the bypolls, Mr Siddaramaiah said his party would take a decision on forming a coalition government with the JD(S) again only after the byelection results were declared
Responding to Yediyurappa calling him a “permanent opposition leader,” he observed caustically that the BJP leader had become Chief Minister through the backdoor.
“There is no permanent Chief Minister or opposition leader in a democracy as everything lies in the hands of the people. We are not kings. We are just servants of the people. So this is a foolish argument,” he said.
Accusing Mr Yediyurappa of indulging in “revenge politics” against the Muslim community, the former Chief Minister lashed out against the state government for cancelling Tipu Jayanti celebrations in Karnataka.
The former chief minister was also critical of rural development and panchayat raj minister K S Eshwarappa, for failing to release grants from his ministry for development work in Badami and Jamkhandi assembly constituencies. "Such politics will not last long. Our party leaders will launch a protest against it," he warned.
