Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar broke down on Saturday with the party poised towards forming the next government in the state and recalled his stint in jail in 2019. He also thanked the party cadre and workers for the results.
Choking with emotions, Shivakumar said, “I can't forget Sonia Gandhi visiting me in jail...when BJP people put me in jail.”
The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief spoke to reporters saying, “I credit my cadre and all my party leaders, they worked hard. People have lent faith in us, they supported us. It is a collective leadership and we jointly worked. I said in the beginning, joining the party is beginning...the day I took the oath, thinking together is progress, and working together is success.”
Recalling his time in jail in 2019 for over 50 days in ED custody in connection with an alleged money laundering case, he said, “I had promised Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge that I will deliver the state to their fold. When these BJP people put me in jail, I remember Sonia Gandhi came to meet me there. Such is the faith the party, the Gandhi family and the whole country bestowed on me.”
Shivakumar further said that he will again address the media and party workers after some time. “I thank all the MLAs in the state, including Siddaramaiah. Every leader who worked from block to the booth level, including my AICC leaders and general secretaries. I have a lot of things to tell, but I will come later and meet you all at Bharat Jodo Bhavan,” he said.
This comes as the Congress party has consolidated its lead in the counting for the assembly elections with victory in two seats and led in 128 others, according to data from the Election Commission of India. Shivakumar was also leading from the Kanakpura constituency with a massive margin of over 64,000 votes.
The counting of votes for the recently held elections in Karnataka began at around 8 am in the morning amid tight security arrangements. The exit polls had predicted a hung assembly with some showing Congress returning to power with a majority. A party needs to reach the majority mark of 113 to form a government in the 224 seat state assembly.
