"My name is Sidda Rama. I am also a Hindu and BJP workers are not the only Hindus," Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Saturday.
Asserting his "Hindu identity," CM Siddaramaiah accused the BJP of deliberately causing communal divide in the state, with the upcoming Assembly elections in mind.
The senior Congressman, who was speaking in Mysuru, said that not just the BJP workers, but he too, was a Hindu.
The New Indian Express reports that Siddaramaiah has, by the statement, made a visible effort to convey that his party is keen on wooing the Hindu voters.
He also criticised the Vistarak programmes of the BJP. Aimed at establishing a direct contact with the voters ahead of the election, several vistaraks or workers will go from homes to homes, explaining the activities of the NDA government. Siddaramaiah saw the programmes as a means by which, the BJP was pushing their "hidden agenda."
Saying that minor issues were blown up out of proportion by the BJP to cause communal tension in the state, CM Siddaramaiah said that the BJP had no other issues to raise.
He also reportedly indicated that the upcoming assembly elections will probably be his last election. CM also conveyed the possibility that he would contest from Chamundeshwari constituency, a constituency that has previously given him victory.
"People in Chamundeshwari have made me win five times... so the people from there are asking me to contest from that constituency," the CM said.