 "Karnataka Election 2023: Just a slip, nothing to panic - Congress' Siddaramaiah after Kudligi incident")
synopsis
Congress leader Siddaramaih on Saturday slipped while entering his car in Kudligi, where he was campaigning for his party's candidate Dr NT Srinivas for the upcoming Karnataka Election 2023.
Campaigning in poll-bound Karnataka is in full swing, with all parties making the most of their time to win the voters' hearts ahead of the May 10 voting. Congress leader Siddaramaiah was in Kudligi on Saturday, campaigning for the party's candidate Dr NT Srinivas.
However, giving the Congress party a near scare, the former Karnataka Chief Minister had an incident while entering his car in Kudligi. A video of the incident shows Siddaramaiah falling backwards while trying to enter his car before being held by officials around him. The Congress leader, who appeared to have slipped due to giddiness from the scorching heat, was then seen drinking water or glucose while seated in the car.
Siddaramaiah, however, took to Twitter to rubbish reports of him slipping due to giddiness and stated that it was a mere slip as the car he usually uses was changed.
"Nothing to panic, I am strong. I slipped and tripped backwards in a car without a side step because the car that I used to ride in has changed. I am comfortable now. Request to media friends not to panic people by reporting this in an exaggerated manner," wrote the former Karnataka Chief Minister in Kannada.
The Congress leader also posted a Tweet in English that read: "I am doing fine and there is no need to worry. It was just a slip while getting inside the car. I request the media people not to report it in a way that scares people."
Meanwhile, in an interview with PTI, Congress' State unit chief D K Shivakumar noted that the outcome of the coming Assembly elections in Karnataka will herald a beginning and open the door for Congress in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He sounded upbeat about the party's prospects in the May ten polls to the 224-member Assembly, saying it would win 141 seats.
The ruling BJP was deploying its entire central leadership for campaigning in the State out of fear of losing the May 10 polls, he said and asserted the 'Modi factor' will not work in the southern State, where people are purely focused on local and developmental issues.
Shivakumar said there is no tussle between him and Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah over the Chief Minister's post. The only aim now was to defeat the BJP at the hustings and ensure that the Congress came to power.
In the event of the party winning, the high command, "on its own electoral process," will take a call on the CM, he said.
The 60-year-old Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President (KPCC) said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman are "disturbed" by the poll "guarantees" announced by his party as "they could not deliver what they promised".
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