“Siddaramaiah, senior Congress leader, will continue to remain active in politics and public life. His statement about not wanting to contest the next elections should not be interpreted as his announcement of retirement from electoral politics,” Yatindra Siddaramaiah, Minister for Urban Development, said in Belagavi on Monday.

His clarification comes after Mr. Siddaramaiah had announced in a public meeting that he would no longer fight polls.

Mr. Yathindra told reporters in the government guest house in Belagavi that his father would campaign for the Congress candidates in the next elections. “He has only said that he may not fight the next Assembly polls. But he will continue to fight for the rights of the poor and deprived by remaining active in politics and public life. He has said this earlier too. It is not a signal that he plans to retire,” the Minister said.

To a query, he said that the Congress high command would take a proper decision about the Cabinet expansion, after consulting senior leaders and Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.

He said he would meet Kannada organisations who are demanding that the Belagavi City Corporation pass a resolution saying Belagavi was an integral part of Karnataka. “We will consider their demands,” he said.

He said that he had no information about reports about the Union government staying additional financial grants to the BCC. “In various States, even local bodies that do not have elected bodies have received such grants. We will study the matter,” he said.

He said he had arrived in Belagavi to review works of the corporation and other agencies.

Published - July 28, 2026 06:58 pm IST