In a jolt to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his financial advisor and senior Congress MLA Basavaraj Rayareddy on Monday staked his claim to become the Chief Minister of Karnataka.
Rayareddy remarks have stirred a controversy amid strong rumours of CM Siddaramaiah getting replaced doing the rounds in the state's political corridors.
Reacting to a question on statements being made by some Congress leaders staking claim for the CM's post, Rayareddy told mediapersons here, "Anyone could become the Chief Minister of the state. I am asking the media, why shouldn't I become the Chief Minister of Karnataka?"
"Minister for Large and Medium Industries M.B. Patil and Minister for Textiles Shivananda Patil are engaged in heated arguments. I also belong to the Lingayat community. Among the Lingayat MLAs, me and B.R. Patil are the senior most MLAs. He is 83 and I am 68 years old. However, I got elected more… Eight times. In this backdrop, there is nothing as such that I should not become the CM," Rayareddy said.
I got elected for the highest number of times in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region. If my party wants to select candidates on the basis of community or seniority, I should be the candidate. I have said it many times and there is no hesitation in making statements about it," he added.
Defending the willingness of veteran party leader R.V. Deshpande to become the Chief Minister if the situation demands, Rayareddy maintained that the former minister did not say anything wrong.
"He had said that if CM Siddaramaiah were to quit and if he chose him, then he would become the CM. He was correct. If PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi desires to become the CM too, even he is not wrong. If Minister M.B. Patil has made statements in this regard, then he too is not wrong," Rayareddy said.
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