"Some conversations are effortless & yet the most impactful," DK Shivakumar tweeted. (file)
In an attempt to project a united front three days before Karnataka votes to elect a new government, state Congress chief DK Shivakumar tweeted a short video clip of his "heart-to-heart" with his party colleague and former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The two top Congress leaders, who are seen as the top contenders for the Chief Minister's post if the grand old party manages to topple the BJP government, spoke candidly about health, a chopper accident, and the people's support for their party in various regions during the election campaign.
"Some conversations are effortless & yet the most impactful.
Amidst the intense #KarnatakaAssemblyElection2023 campaigns, Shri Siddaramaiah and me (sic) sat for a heart-to-heart.
Here's what we talked about and I am sure you'll soon be asking for Part-2 of this!" Mr Shivakumar tweeted along with the video.
The five-minute video clip, in Kannada with English subtitles, starts with Siddaramaih talking about his health when asked about it -- he has a viral infection in his left hand -- and moves to Mr Shivakumar narrating his recent chopper accident scare after a bird hit.
"We barely survived the helicopter incident," DK Shivakumar tells Siddaramaiah, adding that a big bird, weighing about four to five kg, hit the chopper, smashing the glass.
The conversation then moves to the two discussing how the people's response to Congress during the election campaign has been "beyond expectation". They discuss people's support for their party in the areas they campaigned in.
The two leaders, often seen as rivals competing for the Chief Minister's post, then discuss that they would implement their "five guarantees" in the first cabinet meeting after coming to power, and the rest of the promises in the manifesto during the next five years.
The five guarantees of the Congress in the southern state are -- Gruha Jyothi (which promises 200 units of free electricity to all), Gruha Lakshmi (Rs 2,000 monthly to every woman head of the family), Anna Bhagya (10 kg food grains of their choice -- among rice, ragi, jowar, millet -- to every person in a BPL family), Yuva Nidhi (Rs 3,000 every month for two years to unemployed graduates, and Rs 1,500 every month as an allowance for unemployed diploma holders), and Shakti (free travel to all women throughout the state in regular KSRTC/BMTC buses).
The Congress party's official Twitter account shared the video with a "we are stronger together" message, saying the conversation was a "sign of mutual respect and bonhomie" in Karnataka Congress.