MYSURU: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said he has decided not to contest in elections anymore, as he won’t have the health and enthusiasm needed to work after four years with advancing age.During the 2023 assembly polls, he had declared that it would be his last election, but he would continue to remain in politics.”People in Varuna want me to contest once again for Assembly polls from there, but I have decided not to contest in elections anymore. Now I’m 77 years old, I still have four years (assembly tenure), I will be 81-82 years old by then. I won’t have health, and I will not be able to work happily. Can I work with enthusiasm? Enough,” Siddaramaiah said.He said to reporters here, “By 2028 (when Assembly elections are due in Karnataka), I will be 82 years old, and I will complete 50 years in politics. In 1978, I became the taluk board member.”When told he doesn’t look old, he said, “I may not look old, but who can experience ageing, you or me?” Siddaramaiah during the May assembly polls last year had emerged victorious in the Varuna constituency, entering the Assembly for the ninth time. Siddaramaiah, the then-sitting chief minister, had lost in Chamundeshwari in 2018. He, however, won in Badami, the other constituency from where he had contested, and went on to serve as Leader of Opposition.Making his debut in the Assembly in 1983, Siddaramaiah got elected from Chamundeshwari on a Lok Dal Party ticket.
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