Congress sure to win 2023 Karnataka polls: Shivakumar

Bengaluru, June 8 Congress' Karnataka unit President D.K. Shivakumar on Tuesday expressed confidence that his party would triumph in the 2023 Assembly elections.

"Everyone in the party is working in tandem and giving his/her best to ensure our victory in the Assembly elections," he said at a party event here.

Denying any rift in the party, Shivakumar said joining together was the beginning, thinking together was progress and working together was the key to success.

"As one person fighting alone cannot succeed, party's state leaders and cadres should work in coordination to win in the next state elections. As people are fed up with the BJP government in the state, they have served an ultimatum to the ruling party," he said.

Noting that the party's victory in the April 17 by-election in the Maski (reserved) assembly seat sent a strong message to the ruling BJP, Shivakumar also said that its candidate (Satish Jarkiholi) lost in the Belagavi Lok Sabha by-election by a slender margin of 5,240 votes to BJP's Mangala.

Death of Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi in September 2020 due to Covid, necessitated the Belagavi bypoll on April 17 and its result was declared on May 2.

The opposition party, however, failed to retain the Basavakalyan assembly seat in Bidar district in the same by-election, as BJP's nominee Sharanu Salagar wrested it by 20,629 votes, defeating Congress candidate Mala, widow of former party legislator B. Narayanrao, whose death in September 2020 caused the by-poll.

The Congress, however, retained the Maski (ST) assembly seat with its candidate Basanagouda Turuvihal defeating BJP's Pratapgouda Patil by a margin of 30,606 votes.

Shivakumar also said: "We have formed dedicated teams in all the 31 districts across the state and 224 Assembly seats to win people's confidence with a vaccination drive for inoculating maximum number of citizens and helping Covid-affected families across the state."

Advising party leaders and cadres not to lose heart if defeated in elections, he advised them to serve people, which will pay off.

The party felicitated Turuvihal after he took oath as lawmaker in the Speaker's office at Vidhana Soudha