Will sacrifice Karnataka CM post for a Dalit, says Siddaramaiah

Siddaramaiah shows his ink-stained finger after voting in the assembly elections. Pic/PTI

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday said that he was ready to sacrifice his chief ministerial post for a Dalit. "I am ready to sacrifice the chief minister's post for a Dalit," he said.

Karnataka Congress has a strong presence of Dalit leaders, foremost among whom are Mallikarjun Kharge and G Parameshwara. On a related note, the Karnataka Assembly has 224 seats and a party or an alliance needs 113 seats to form the government.

The assembly polls, which began at 7 am on Saturday at 58,546 polling stations concluded at 7 pm. The Election Commission (EC) said that voter turnout recorded was 70 per cent, compared to 71.4 per cent in the 2013 elections in Karnataka. A total of 2,654 candidates, including 216 women were in the fray for the assembly elections this year.

Speaking to reporters in Chamundeshwari constituency, one of the two seats from where Siddaramaiah contested in the high-stakes polls, along with Badami in north Karnataka, the Congress leader said, "This will be my last election." He also exuded confidence that the Congress would get an absolute majority in Karnataka.