PM Modi's visit to Mysuru would be a violation of poll code: Siddaramaiah

Congress leader and former Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's scheduled visit to Mysuru on April 9 to inaugurate an event would be a violation of the Model Code of Conduct for elections.

"How can PM visit for a government program? We want to check whether Election Commission has given permission for this program. If they did not, then it will be a violation Model Code of Conduct. The election commission has right to give permit for this," the Congress leader told reporters.

An official said that PM Modi is scheduled to inaugurate a three-day mega event on April 9 in Mysuru, Karnataka to commemorate 50 years of Project Tiger. PM Modi is arriving in the state after the implementation of a model code of conduct which comes into effect on March 29.

On the other hand, Siddaramaiah has expressed his intention to contest from Varuna and Kolar constituencies, but the constituencies are not finalized yet. His statement has allegedly confirmed the ongoing tussle between Siddaramaiah and state Congress chief DK Shivakumar.

The leadership tussle between former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and state Congress chief DK Shivakumar is "pushing the party towards darkness", said a senior leader of the party.

The fight for the chief ministerial post in the upcoming Assembly election in the state in May continues to deepen with the war of words flaring up from both the Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar factions.

The war has put the senior Congress leaders in a spot of bother about the present shape of the party. According to most of the party leaders, infighting has already become a "nightmare" for many Congress leaders.

Karnataka will go to polls on May 10, with the election being held in a single phase. Counting will take place on May 13.