Leader of Karnataka the Congress legislature party Siddaramaiah is still undecided on which constituency he wants to contest from in the coming state Assembly elections.
It is no secret that the Karnataka Congress is a divided house with three factions and two primary contenders for the chief minister’s post — Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar. The third faction, comprising of leaders like Dr G Parameshwara and BK Hariprasad, are hoping to push for a “surprise” candidate for the chief minister’s chair.
Even as that internal rivalry brews, Siddaramaiah, it seems, is still unclear which seat would “safe” for him. Should it be Kolar? Perhaps home turf Varuna? Or Chamudeshwari, which scorned him in the last election? Or a seat in Bengaluru?
Interestingly, it isn’t just his supporters or Congress workers who are waiting with bated breath to see which constituency he picks, but also an unlikely BJP leader.
The BJP state unit’s vice-president and BS Yediyurappa’s son BY Vijayendra is said to be equally interested in Siddaramaiah’s choice of constituencies.
If Siddaramaiah chooses Varuna, Vijayendra, it seems, is keen to challenge him on his home turf. In the 2018 elections, Vijayendra was all set to take on Siddaramaiah’s son Dr Yathindra in Varuna, but the party didn’t give him a ticket.
This time around, Vijayendra wants to taken on Siddaramaiah if the latter chooses Varuna. While victory may be a long shot for Vijayendra, but pitting himself against a political giant like Siddaramaiah will automatically elevate his stature — especially as he has never contested elections before.
