‘I am 83 years old’: Congress chief on senior leaders ‘opting out’ of Lok Sabha polls

“We also have a list of ten people requesting the same seat,” Mr. Hager said.

New Delhi:

Congress president Mallikarjun Haq on Tuesday refuted claims that senior party leaders were shying away from contesting the Lok Sabha polls and said he may do so if workers ask him to contest the elections.

However, he said he may not vote this time because age is a factor.

Mr. Haq was elected as MP from Gulbarga in Karnataka in 2009 and 2014 and lost in 2019.

Asked about reports that senior leaders have chosen not to contest the Lok Sabha polls, Mr Haq said: “It would be wrong for us to withdraw. I am 83 years old and you (journalists) retire at 65… so I am 83 years old”.

“If given a chance, everyone goes and tells our party members (that I should fight)…if they say then I will definitely fight. You see, sometimes we are at the back and sometimes we are at the front. We also have a share of ten people A list of requests for the same seat,” he said.

On another question on the comparison between the Congress party’s assurances and those of the Congress party, Mr. Haq said: “They stole our assurances. We started in Karnataka and won the elections, Later we did it in Telangana. … Modi Saheb is stealing our assurance and saying ‘this is our assurance’.”