"I don't want to embarrass or weaken the party": Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar

Kanakapura (Karnataka) [India], November 26 (ANI): Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, DK Shivakumar, responding to several media queries regarding the current 'internal conflict' in Karnataka Congress in reference to the CM position, said on Tuesday that he doesn't want to embarrass or weaken the party.
"I believe in conscience. We should work according to conscience. I don't want to embarrass the party or weaken the party," said DK Shivakumar, in Kanakapura, Bengaluru South district.
When asked if Mallikarjun Kharge had gone to Delhi and was going to discuss the handover of power with Rahul Gandhi, he said, "I don't know about this matter. This is a secret matter between five or six of us. I will not reveal it. The CM is a senior leader and an asset to our party. He has been CM for 7.5 years. He has said that he will present the next budget himself. Very happy. He has worked hard as the Leader of the Opposition. He has built the party. We should all focus on the goal of the 2028 and 2029 elections together."
When asked if people were praying for him to become the CM, he said, "Rather than praying now for me to get power, I cannot forget the prayers my mothers, youth and elders offered to the temple priests when I went to jail. When I was released from prison during the BJP era, people welcomed me without hesitation, even under the threat of the police."
He added, "When I was in jail, police officer Bhaskar Rao threatened me not to protest against Karave Narayana Gowda. Some Swamijis came, some did not. Former CM Kumaraswamy made a different statement in Channapatna. Many people came to our house, spoke to my wife and children, and filled me with courage. People had prayed for me that day with vows. I am still unable to fulfil the vows I made then. Many did not put on slippers until I was released. Today I am the DCM and the party president. The prayers I gave during difficult times filled me with self-confidence, which is very special to me."
When asked whether people in all four constituencies of the district supported the party, saying they wanted to see him as the CM, he said, "I have also asked people to vote for me in all the constituencies, including Mahadevappa's constituency and Mandya, during the elections. People have voted for our collective leadership. I will not say that they voted for me alone. Our workers have put in more effort than we have in 224 constituencies."
Responding to the question that he had come to the workers' election amidst many other tasks, he said, "Workers are us. When Ramakrishna Hegde was the CM, I, Srikanthaiah, contested the election for this same seat. The rest contested as independents. That was the first election of my political life. I won this election in Kanakapura and was elected as the director. At that time, Oscar Fernandes stayed in the same building for a month and conducted the election. This is the workers' election. If the workers are conducting my election, I will be derelict in duty if I do not come and vote in their election. We will be strong only if the workers are strong. They asked me to compromise in the election."
"We have said we should hold the election ourselves and let the workers experience it. We were very disappointed during the parliamentary elections; there were no agents for many booths. We did not know how the attack happened. We will correct our mistake. Who is our enemy in politics? We need to know. In this election, we will know who is for us and who is against us. That is why we are holding elections," he said.
When added that such elections are essential for the party organisation.
"No party can exist if the party does not have its original form. This is our origin. The society, milk union, PLD, municipality, and panchayats are like our assets. There are 300 small votes here, yet 300 leaders have come out in support of the workers' victory. Therefore, no matter how much work pressure I am under, I am coming and voting. If we did not come, it means that the leaders did not come and vote. Why should we vote? They will insult the villages," he said
When asked if some MLAs have gone to Delhi and are trying to make him the CM, he said, "Those who aspire to be ministers have gone; I do not know about the attempt to make me the CM. I have not called them, I have not sent them. I will not question why you went."
When asked if there was a power-sharing agreement, he said, "Why should I talk about it? You (the media) are writing something." (ANI)