Rahul Gandhi Is A Lucky Charm For Congress: DK Shivakumar

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Wednesday praised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and called him the "lucky charm" of the Congress party.

Speaking at Prajadvani Yatra 2 here, he said, "As part of the historic Bharat Jodo yatra, Rahul Gandhi walked from Chamarajanagar to Raichur. Congress party won all the seats en route to the yatra in Karnataka and came to power. He is a lucky charm for the Party."

"Rahul Gandhi is fighting against inflation and unemployment on behalf of the people. The people of Mandya gave the Congress party 7 of 8 seats last time. I am confident the people will support this time too. I am not going to talk about the Opposition candidate because he has not been there for the people of Mandya when they needed it," he said.

He further said that the Congress party is thinking about building the lives of the people, while the BJP is thinking of exploiting the people emotionally.

"I have taken an oath to complete the Mekedatu project. The Centre did not give approvals to Mekedatu project even when there was a 'double engine sarkar'. In spite of difficult conditions, we have given water to the people of this region," Mr Shivakumar added.

"Rahul Gandhi called JDS the B team of BJP in the last election. Now, the JDS has officially joined hands with the BJP and become one team. Star Chandru isn't the only candidate in Mandya, DK Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjuna Kharge are all candidates," he said.

He further said that Kumaraswamy has cheated the people who elected you to the Legislative Assembly and has now come to take the people of Mandya for a ride.

"Why is JDS fielding Kumaraswamy? Did the party not have anyone from Mandya? Many leaders worked hard to make him the CM and they could have been given the seat. He has cheated the people who elected you to the Legislative Assembly and has now come to take the people of Mandya for a ride. The Congress party will have 20 seats, including Mandya, Hasan, Bengaluru Rural and Kolar," he said.

"The women of the state have fought for their self-respect. You have done the right thing by condemning those who said that women are losing their way because of guarantee schemes. Thousands of JDS workers are joining Congress, former JDS MLA Srinivas joined the Congress today," he said.

"BJP State President Vijayendra has said Congress guarantees are temporary. He said he would stop the guarantee schemes if the BJP came to power. They need to understand that guarantee schemes are part of people's lives and livelihoods. I dare you to stop these guarantee schemes," Mr Shivakumar challenged.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress and JD-S fought together against the BJP and the combine was decimated. The BJP had won a record 25 seats; Congress and JD-S won just one seat each.

The BJP's alliance partner, Janata Dal (Secular), is contesting from Mandya under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) this time.
Karnataka is going to the polls in two phases. 

The southern segments of the state will vote on April 26 in the second phase, and those in the northern parts will vote in the second phase on May 7 in the third phase.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)