Bengaluru, Jun 7 (IANS): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress president D.K. Shivakumar said on Friday that they are hoping that Rahul Gandhi will become the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

He made the statement after being asked if Rahul Gandhi will become the Leader of the Opposition. Shivakumar said, “The whole country is hoping to see Rahul Gandhi become the PM.”

“Rahul Gandhi has instructed the Chief Minister and me to prepare a report on election performance after deliberations with various leaders. The Chief Minister and I have been invited for the AICC Working Committee meeting on June 8. We will hold a review meeting once we come back from Delhi,” he added.

Asked about the functioning of the EVMs, he said, “I have a few doubts about EVMs. I am collecting some data regarding that and I will talk to you about it then.”

Replying to a query on the growing demands of the NDA partners, he said, “There is nothing wrong in their expectations. People with a much lower number of seats are demanding a lot nowadays."

Asked if the issue of the party not getting leads in the constituencies of many ministers was discussed in the meeting with Rahul Gandhi, he said, “Rahul Gandhi has discussed it with all the ministers. The High Command has asked for a report and we will submit a report post our discussions with the party leaders.”

“All India Congress Committee president Mallikarjun Kharge ji and Article 371J have helped the party in Kalyana Karnataka and the party has won all the five seats in the region. We will work out the future course of action keeping all this in mind,” he stated.

“Rahul Gandhi held a meeting with the newly elected Congress MPs and defeated candidates in Bengaluru. He advised the newly elected MPs to be in touch with their constituency as often as possible and do good work with the support of the state government,” Shivakumar added.

“Stating that only one MP from Karnataka spoke for the state in the previous Parliament, Rahul Gandhi advised the new MPs to raise their voice against the injustice meted out to the state with regard to tax devolution, Kalasa Bhanduri, Mekedatu, Upper Bhadra, Finance Commission, Peripheral Ring Road, etc,” Shivakumar informed.

"Rahul Gandhi also spoke to the defeated candidates and advised them to continue their work in the constituency and win the hearts of the people. He later met some of the ministers and discussed the party's performance in their respective constituencies,” he noted.