Bengaluru: Will it be Varuna or Chamundeshwari? Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seems to be caught in a bind over the selection of his assembly constituency for the 2018 polls. During a recent visit to his hometown, he made two different statements about the constituency from where he would be seeking re-election.
At one programme, Mr Siddaramaiah declared that he would contest from Chamundeshwari which he had represented from 1983 till 2008. The next day, the CM said he was yet to make up his mind whether to contest from Varuna or Chamundeshwari following the demand from people of both constituencies. At yet another function, he left people confused saying he was planning to contest from both constituencies!
Without clearing the air, Mr Siddaramaiah had pushed the ball into the high command's court leaving it to party bosses to decide where he should contest. This indicates the CM's state of mind on his constituency in 2018, which according to him, would be his last election.
Congress sources told DC that the CM had reportedly engaged a private firm to conduct an internal survey in Varuna and Chamundeshwari to assess his winnability. The survey is still on and is expected to be completed in a month.
After the demise of Rakesh Siddaramaiah, his elder son, the CM has taken on himself the responsibility of inducting another son, Dr Yathindra into politics. While some say Mr Siddaramaiah considers Varuna a safe constituency for Dr Yatindra, others contend it may be difficult for him due to the influence of former minister and BJP leader V. Srinivasaprasad on Dalit votes in Varuna. After suffering a humiliating defeat in the recent bypoll in Nanjangud, Mr Prasad is planning to show his strength in Varuna in the coming elections which has become a matter of concern for Mr Siddaramaiah.
Sources said the CM may have contested from Chamundeshwari if the ground realities and caste combination had been different. Since 2008, this constituency had underwent a lot of change and Mr Siddaramaiah had lost touch with Chamundeshwari.
Of the 2.5 lakh voters, Vokkaligas are in a majority with 65,000 votes, Kurubas-40,000, Nayaks-35,000, Lingayats-30,000 and Dalits-35,000 votes. Sitting JD(S) MLA, Mr G.T. Deve Gowda had been representing this constituency since 2008 and has done a lot of developmental work. Being the CM, Mr Siddaramaiah may be able to divert funds on projects but will that fetch him enough votes is a big question.
Mr Siddaramaiah's gameplan is to get the Kuruba community votes and also a sizeable chunk of Vokkaliga and Dalit votes. But this was ruled out by Mr G.T. Deve Gowda who said: “Mr Siddaramaiah may get Kuruba votes but not that of Vokkaligas, Nayaks and Lingayats who are behind me. Lingayats will never vote for Mr Siddaramaiah for his diatribe against their community leaders-especially state BJP president B.S. Yeddyurappa. Apart from this, Mr Siddaramaiah will be treated as an outsider since he deserted the constituency a decade ago and had been contesting from Varuna since 2008. Mr Siddaramaiah's defeat is sure if he contests from Chamundeshwari.”
