KCR reached out to Congress candidates but they’ll stay put, says Shivakumar

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar alleged that Telangana CM K Chandrashekhar Rao had reached out to Congress candidates likely to emerge victorious in the neighbouring states on Sunday but insisted that they would stay put.

He made the comments to media persons on Saturday. He also sought to deny reports he has been asked to bring winning Congress candidates from five states where elections were held recently, to resorts and hotels in Karnataka ahead of the results.

Shivakumar was responding to reports that the Congress high command had asked him to replicate arrangements made for 44 Gujarat legislators during the August 2017 Rajya Sabha elections to prevent poaching.

“There is no problem and there are no threats. We have confidence that our party will win comfortably. All legislators will be loyal.

"We know that they’re trying to trap us. We have the information. Our candidates have themselves come forward and informed us that they have been approached by the CM himself directly,” Shivakumar said.

“No MLAs will be going anywhere,” he said.

“Nobody has given me a responsibility or called me. I have my own opinion on the poll analysis that is being shown by the media. I am confident that we will win all the states,” he added.

Elections were held in Rajasthan, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Mizoram and the counting of polled votes is slated on Sunday.

"Responding to a query on this, Shivakumar, who is the Karnataka Congress chief, said: “There is no need for them (MLAs) to go anywhere.”