Siddaramaiah

Speaking to reporters here, he claimed "Even in Karnataka, if byelections are held for 15 assembly seats, majority (of them) we will win and a situation will arise for Yediyurappa to resign."

Speaking at a party event on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti here, the former Karnataka Chief Minister said if Modi was a 'patriot', he should have protested immediately against Trump describing him as "father of nation" instead of Gandhi.

At Periapatna in Mysuru on Friday evening, when reporters asked him why the JD(S) leaders were blaming him for the collapse of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government, Siddaramaiah used the Kannada adage that literally translates to "Incapable of dancing, a prostitute called the dance floor uneven".

Of the total 34 ministerial positions in Karnataka, Congress and JD(S) have shared 22 and 12, respectively.

'Yeddyurappa has been saying for the past one year the government will fall. He will continue to say the same for the next four years. I am confident the government is strong,' Siddaramaiah said.

Addressing a gathering in Chincholi, Kumaraswamy on May 14 had said, Kharge should have become the Chief Minister long ago.

His remarks come amid a bitter spat between the leaders of the ruling coalition partners Congress and JD(S) to make Siddaramaiah the state chief minister once again.

"They (Congress men) are expressing their opinion, but is it possible now? The seat is not vacant now, Kumaraswamy is chief minister. How can I become the CM?" Siddaramaiah told reporters in Hubballi.

He said the electronic voting machines (EVMs) are not tamper-proof and Voter Verified Paper Trail (VVPATs) machines are not without their flaws either, he said adding that the Congress will bring back ballot paper if voted to power.

There is no "threat" to the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) government, which is "very much stable" and functioning smoothly without hiccups, he told PTI on Monday.

The senior Congress leader observed that neither of the two national parties were in a position to cross the 150 mark out of 543, despite claims to the contrary by BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Targeting Modi, Siddaramaiah tweeted: "Just came across a video of our @narendramodi taking political potshots using the name of dyslexic people. Shame on you Modi!! You just can't go below this. Your insensitivity can't be washed away by dipping in any river. They may be slow in learning but not heartless like you."

Congress and JD(S) as per their coalition arrangement have decided to fight the Lok Sabha polls together.

The incident which occurred during a public interaction organised by Siddaramaiah, his MLA son Yathindra who represents Varuna assembly constituency, and others, was caught on camera with the video of it going viral.

Ruling out any threat to the H D Kumaraswamy-led government amid alleged attempts by the BJP to topple it, the former Chief Minister said both parties will face the polls together. Preliminary discussions have been held on Lok Sabha elections and a meeting will be held in three or four days to decide on the constituencies, he said.

The Congress leaders are locked in a war of attrition with the BJP ever since the ministry was recently expanded and reshuffled, amid reports that the saffron party was in touch with disgruntled MLAs who missed ministerial berths.

The leader of the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition coordination committee also ruled out any differences between him and Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara over portfolio allocation to newly inducted ministers.

This will be the third coordination committee meeting since the formation of the coalition government after the May assembly polls threw up a hung assembly. "The next coordination committee meeting will take place on August 31," JD(S) secretary general Danish Ali said.

Reddy's remarks coming days after Siddaramaiah's comments about becoming chief minister again fuels speculation that all is not well within the Congress-JDS coalition.

"You can think whatever you want, but I said we will come to power in next election," he told reporters here. Addressing party workers in Hassan district yesterday, Siddaramaiah reportedly said if people wish, he will become chief minister again.