Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar today said there was no need for anyone to go to Delhi to lobby for him.
Speaking to reporters at a city hotel and then at Palace Grounds, he said, “I appeal to everyone not to go to Delhi to lobby for me. If you have personal requests or aspiring for Cabinet positions, you can go to Delhi. But you don’t need to go to Delhi to bat for me.” He was replying to questions on rumours about some MLAs and ministers planning to visit Delhi in his support.
Not a show of strength
Asked if the meeting of over 40 MLAs on the occasion of MLA Balakrishna’s birthday celebrations was a show of strength, he said, “No show of strength. Some MLAs travel abroad for leisure and study-tours, some go to Delhi and some others meet for dinners. What they do for personal reasons has nothing to do with the party.”
Newcomers have aspirations
When drawn his attention to statements by some MLAs that they would like to see him as the CM, he said, “I don’t know about it. No one has personally spoken to me about it. Some have aspirations, it is natural for newcomers to aspire to become ministers. Parameshwar, H K Patil, Mahadevappa and Siddaramaiah and I became ministers at a very young age. We are all old now, the newcomers are expressing their desire to become ministers. I will bring this to the attention of the party leaders in Delhi.”
