Bengaluru:  2023 state election will be his last fight of his life, former Karnataka chief minister and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy said.

"2023 election will be my last fight," he said while addressing a party rally at Hirekerur.

Taking a dig at Congress, Kumaraswamy said the grand old party was the reason for the BJP to form such a bad government.

The BJP government, he said, was only making announcements, but were not implementing them. "It had announced an assistance of Rs 5 lakh each to those who had lost their houses in the floods and landslides. Not a single paisa," he said.

The government also has not distributed crop loss compensation and failed to fulfil its promise to waive of farm loans.

Former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa had assured farmers of his government’s commitment on the farm loan waiver, which was announced by the JDS-Congress coalition government in 2019.

"Farmers here told me that the government has not waived of farm loans. The BJP had mocked me for waiving the farm loan," Kumaraswamy said. The saffron party had mocked him for his decision to hike tariff on power, fuel to raise funds after presenting a lopsided budget that accommodated the much-hyped farm loan waiver.

Kumaraswamy said he did not aspire to form government by joining hands with any party, but accepted the offer to become chief minister only because he wanted to fulfil his pre-poll promise of waiving of farm loans within 24 hours of him taking oath as the chief minister.

"I did not aspire to form a government with any party. The Congress leaders came to my house and offered my party the post of chief minister, but Deve Gowda rejected it. But I accepted the chief minister's post only to fulfil my pre-poll promise of waiving of farm loan," he said.

Just before the last assembly elections, Kumaraswamy had promised farm loan waiver of Rs 53,000 crore, including interests from comparative and nationalised banks within 24 hours of him taking oath as the chief minister.

"Even now, I don't aspire to be the chief minister, but do you want a government which does not have any interest to address the problems of people and farmers," he said.