Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar swears to bring Congress back to power

Bengaluru: Congress' newly-installed Karnataka President D.K. Shivakumar on Thursday vowed to bring the party back to power in the southern state with the support of its leaders and cadres.

"I am assuming charge as the party's state President with a promise to bring the Congress back to power in the state under collective leadership and support of our cadres," he said. Addressing thousands of party's cadres across the state through live streaming of the event, Shivakumar said he was grateful to Congress President Sonia Gandhi for giving him an opportunity to strengthen the party and returning to power for serving the people.

"Though the BJP tried its best to finish me off politically by sending me to Tihar jail in September (2019) after misusing the Income Tax office and the Enforcement Directorate to frame false cases, I have emerged stronger with the support of the party leadership," he asserted.

Dressed in kurta-pyjama and sporting a white Nehru cap, Shivakumar said as he believed in collective leadership, he would take the help of senior leaders in gearing up the party for the next state assembly elections, due in 2023.

"I joined the party as an ordinary worker long ago and grew up over the years by working under the leadership of S. Bangarappa, S.M. Krishna, Dharam Singh, Mallikarjun Kharge and Siddaramaiah at the state level and under Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi at the national level," he said. (IANS)

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