Will study voters’ message and make corrections: DKS

Bengaluru: Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Wednesday said the Congress would carefully analyse the message conveyed by voters in the recent Legislative Council elections and take corrective measures.

Speaking to the media near his Sadashivanagar residence, Shivakumar said the party respected the voters’ verdict in the graduates’ and teachers’ constituency elections. “We had expected our party to win two seats, but that did not happen. Although we lost, we secured a good number of votes. We did not expect the result in the Bengaluru Teachers’ Constituency. We will review what went wrong,” he said.

Reacting to claims by the BJP and JD(S) that the results were an indication of the political trend ahead, Shivakumar questioned their interpretation. “What do they have to say about Channapatna and Shiggaon? Were those results not an indication too?” he asked. He added that the Congress had lessons to learn from the outcome and would review the results to determine how to better prepare its cadre.

Asked about the BJP and JD(S) describing the Congress losses as a setback, given that all four Legislative Council constituency elections were conducted using ballot papers, Shivakumar said ballot-paper voting was necessary. “There are several problems in the electoral process. Our party will announce a new action plan on this after November,” he said.

On the meetings convened with legislators from different communities, the Chief Minister said the discussions were intended to address community-related issues and matters concerning court verdicts.

Responding to a question about the release of drought-relief funds, Shivakumar said bank accounts were being verified and the government had already issued an order for the release of funds. “The issues will be rectified, and the relief amount will be credited to the accounts,” he said.

He added that the State had asked the Centre to fix a time for discussions on drought relief. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Bengaluru on November 15 to inaugurate the Metro, and Shivakumar said he would seek an appointment with him on the matter.

A proposed visit to Mysuru had been postponed due to Dasara, he said. If a meeting could not be arranged in Bengaluru, he would request time for an all-party delegation to meet the Prime Minister during his visit.

Asked whether the State government had objections to the Election Commission’s final list, Shivakumar said it did.

“They have given us an opportunity to submit our objections. The Election Commission has accepted the objections we raised regarding Form 7,” he said. Reacting to Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy’s remark that the elimination of Narakasuras would begin with Deepavali this year, Shivakumar replied, “May God do good.”

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The Hans India