Let Modi Come Here, the Weather in Karnataka is Good: Cong’s DK Shivakumar | Exclusive

In an exclusive interview to News18, Karnataka Congress chief D K Shivakumar said that PM Narendra Modi will not be able to make a difference in a progressive state like Karnataka, citing how he “could neither save the party nor their leaders".

Shivakumar is confident that he won’t have to fight against Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) R Ashoka in Kanakapura. “Every home in the constituency has a Shivakumar and they will fight the election for me," he said.

Edited excerpts:

How will the entry of Jagadish Shettar and Laxman Savadi help the Congress?

Whoever believes in the ideology of the Congress, will join the party. The double engine government has failed. Karnataka cannot be run by PM Modi or Amit Shah. It is about local issues. The double engine and the Karnataka government have failed. Karnataka is a progressive state and the image of the state needs to be maintained. Atal Bihari Vajpayee had once said that Karnataka attracts world leaders. We need to keep it up and protect the state. For development, we need to root out corruption and help people on issues such as price rise. We have come out with promises and four guarantees. We are coming out with a manifesto.

The BJP says it will fight on the plank of development and PM Modi. What about the Congress? Apart from your four promises, will you initiate Operation Hasta?

They (BJP) could not deliver on their promises. Modi could not save their party, their leaders or their heritage. He could not do it. It will run out. He cannot do his magic here.

The BJP says Modi will come, so will the Modi Tsunami and change everything for the party…

Let them come and sleep here daily. The weather in Karnataka is good, even the political weather is good. Let them come here…

You are fighting against BJP’s R Ashoka. How do you see the contest?

I wish him all the best. I am not fighting in Kanakapura, I am not the candidate of Kanakapura. In every house, there are DK Shivakumars. The name is a part of every household. They will fight the election.

It now looks like a contest between the DK brothers and the BJP…

It is not so. It is between the Congress and the BJP.

Read all the Latest Politics News here