Mysuru: A month after the passing away of his older son, Rakesh, who was widely seen as his political heir, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was accompanied by his younger son, Dr S Yathindra, who has until now shied away from public life, on arrival at the Mysuru airport.
The soft spoken doctor was seen warmly greeting his father’s supporters before leaving with him in a car to participate in the valedictory of the centenary birthday celebrations of Shivarathri Rajendra Swami of the JSS Math in Suttur.
CM Siddaramaiah with his elder son Rakesh
Later, when contacted, he said he was not sure about entering politics. “I only want to continue working for the people of the constituency like Rakesh did. Let me gain some experience and the confidence of people first and then I will think about entering politics. As of now I have no such intention,” he said, however, denying that he was visiting the constituency on his father’s orders.
“My father has not ordered me to do any of this. But yes, there was pressure from the people of the constituency. And I also felt that in my father’s absence work in the constituency should not be held up and so stepped in to help,” he explained.
But wouldn't this mean neglecting his diagnostic centre in Bengaluru? “No. There are people to look after it,” he responded. As for Mr Siddaramaiah he said he had left it to Dr Yathindra to decide if he wanted to enter politics. “ If he is interested he can join. If not, he doesn’t have to,” he said, when asked about his plans for his son.
