This soon turned into a Twitter battle between BJP and Siddaramaiah.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah hit out at BJP General Secretary P Muralidhar Rao for tweeting to him about his plan to contest the May 12assembly polls from two constituences.
Muralidhar, who is in-charge of Karnataka for the BJP, asked whether Siddaramaiah was scared he wouldn't win from Chamundeshwari in Mysuru and was searching for a second place to contest from."To end your doubt let me clarify that not only your two seats, but entire Karnataka will be Congress Mukt (Congress free)," he said in a tweet in Hindi.
.@Siddaramaiah जी डर गए क्या?
कड़ी मशक्कत के बाद आपने चामुंडेश्वरी सीट चुनी फिर अब वहां भी हार सामने देखकर दूसरी जगह तलाश कर रहे हैं, मैं आपका संशय खत्म करने के लिए स्पष्ट कर दूं न सिर्फ आपकी दोनों सीट बल्कि पूरा कर्नाटका कांग्रेस मुक्त बनने जा रहा है।
— P Muralidhar Rao (@PMuralidharRao) April 21, 2018
But it appears the message was lost in translation as Siddaramaiah retorted by asking the BJP leader to tweet in Kannada or English.
"Tweet in Kannada or English sir, don't understand Hindi!", came the reply.
ಕನ್ನಡ ಅಥವಾ ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಟ್ವೀಟ್ ಮಾಡಿ ಸರ್. ಹಿಂದಿ ಅರ್ಥವಾಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ https://t.co/i9rbgLyFJU
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) April 21, 2018
The jab comes amid news of Siddaramaiah confirming that he will be contesting from two constituencies in the upcoming polls - from Badami in Bagalkot district and Chamundeshwari in Mysuru district.
The Karnataka BJP handle however was quick to point out that the Congress government has used Urdu in the past.
"Siddaramaiah Sir, when you and your party members gave statements in Hindi and Urdu, even we did not understand sir!", read a tweet from BJP showing two Urdu posters signed off by Congress leaders.ಸಿದ್ಧರಾಮಯ್ಯ ಸರ್, ನೀವು ಮತ್ತು ನಿಮ್ಮವರು ಹಿಂದಿ, ಉರ್ದು ಭಾಷೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಜಾಹೀರಾತು ಕೊಟ್ಟಾಗ ನಮಗೂ ಅರ್ಥಾ ಆಗಿರ್ಲಿಲ್ಲ ಸರ್. pic.twitter.com/wYoe34SZ8E
— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) April 21, 2018
Following this, Muralidhar tweeted the same question he posed earlier in Kannada to the CM.
ಏನ್ ಸಿದ್ದರಾಮಯ್ಯನವ್ರೇ ಹೆದರಿಬಿಟ್ರಾ?
ಭಾರೀ ಮಸಲತ್ತು ಮಾಡಿ ಚಾಮುಂಡೇಶ್ವರಿ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರ ಆರಿಸಿಕೊಂಡ್ರಿ. ಈಗ ಭಯದಿಂದ ಎರಡು ದೋಣಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಲಿಡಲು ಹೊರಟಿದ್ದೀರಿ! ಚಿಂತೆ ಬೇಡ, ನೀವೆಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ಪರ್ಧಿಸಿದರೂ ನಾವು ಪೂರ್ತಿ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕವನ್ನೇ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಮುಕ್ತ ಮಾಡುತ್ತೇವೆ. https://t.co/rPZ2XI1NEI
— P Muralidhar Rao (@PMuralidharRao) April 21, 2018
To which the Chief Minister replied in English that leaders with pan-Karnataka appeal do not fear contesting from any part of the state. He also added that he was glad he taught him to tweet in Kannada.
Leaders with pan Karnataka appeal do not fear any part of the state.
People will decide my fate in both the constituencies, you don’t worry about it.
But I am happy I taught you to tweet in Kannada! https://t.co/3Yz443H0hX
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) April 21, 2018