Mangaluru : Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday asked party workers to buck up for the forthcoming gram panchayat elections, which are likely to be held by May-end.

“Though the elections are not held on political party lines, our workers have to contest all seats in about 6,000 panchayats. Victory in as many seats as possible will consolidate the party base and also help win more seats in the Legislative Council,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said. The Congress is still in the minority in the Council.

He was speaking after laying the foundation stone for the District Congress Bhavan at Mallikatte here. Coaxing workers not to get disheartened over the Lok Sabha poll debacle last year, Mr. Siddaramaiah described it as part of the democratic process where victory and defeat are part of the game. The UPA government, during its two stints at the Centre, had done laudable work for the common man; but people wanted a change, he said.

Lambasting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Mr. Siddaramaiah described it as a party of liars. The tone and tenor of Prime Minister Narendra Modi before and after the elections are completely different; there are no signs of achche din (good days) coming, he said. Unlike the Congress, which always works for the common man, the poor are not in the list of BJP priorities, he alleged.

He said though the Union government had increased the States’ share of Central taxes, from 32 per cent to 42 per cent, it had drastically cut down funding for Central schemes. Though Karnataka got Rs. 8,320 crore more from Central taxes share, funds for Central schemes were reduced by Rs. 10,000 crore. The allocations were Rs. 1,987 crore less compared to last year. As a result, the State is forced to pool in Rs. 4,689 crore more to continue with the Central schemes, he said. Mr. Siddaramaiah said the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee would provide financial assistance for the construction of the Congress Bhavan.

District in-charge Minister and District Congress president B. Ramanath Rai said the government has allotted 9 cents of land for the bhavan.