Several surveys have been conducted over a few months to assess his winnability in Kolar and avert a fiasco like Chamundeshwari in 2018.
Published Jan 10, 2023 | 3:12 AM ⚊ Updated Jan 10, 2023 | 3:14 AM
Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah
The Congress Legislative Party (CLP) chief Siddaramaiah, on Monday, 9 January, announced that he would contest the upcoming Karnataka Assembly polls from the Kolar constituency.
However, amid loud cheers from party workers, the former chief minister Siddaramaiah added a rider: He would contest subject to the approval of the Congress central leadership.
The 75-year-old, who insisted that he would contest from only one constituency this time, was looking for a “safe seat”.
He had been giving indications about choosing Kolar for some time now, holding a series of meetings with party leaders from the district.
On Monday, too, hours before he made the announcement, Siddarmaiah met former Union minister and prominent leader from Kolar KH Muniyappa.
Siddaramaiah greeting party workers. (siddaramaiah/Twitter)
Congress leaders and workers from Kolar have been mounting pressure on the CLP leader to contest from there.
Siddaramaiah received similar requests from the Varuna, Badami, Hebbal, Koppal, and Chamrajpet segments, among other constituencies.
Sources in the Congress suggest that Siddarmaiah may also contest from a second seat — Varuna — which is currently represented by his son Yathindra Siddarmaiah.
The CLP leader’s visit to Kolar in November and his cryptic statement about coming back to the constituency during the filing of nominations had led to speculation that he might contest the 2023 Assembly election from Kolar.
Siddaramaiah, who currently represents the Badami segment of Bagalkote district in northern Karnataka, had indicated that he may not contest from there, citing his inability to give more time to people and party workers of the constituency given the distance.
Srinivasa Gowda, Kolar’s sitting MLA from the JD(S) who has switched sides to the Congress, earlier indicated that would not be contesting polls and wanted Siddaramaiah to contest.
Siddaramaiah, who has announced that the 2023 Assembly polls would be his last, had made it clear that he would not contest from Chamundeshwari either.
As chief minister, he lost the 2018 Assembly polls in Chamundeshwari to JD(S) candidate GT Deve Gowda by 36,042 votes.
He, however, won Badami, the other constituency from where he had contested and defeated B Sriramulu (BJP) by a thin margin of 1,696 votes.
Making his debut in the Assembly in 1983, Siddaramaiah was elected from Chamundeshwari on a Lok Dal Party ticket. He has won five times from this constituency and tasted defeat thrice.
After neighbouring Varuna became a constituency in 2008 following delimitation, Siddaramaiah represented it till he vacated the seat for his son Yathindra (now an MLA) in the 2018 Assembly polls and went back to his old constituency of Chamundeshwari.
Siddaramaiah, who was chief minister from 2013 to 2018, is nursing ambitions for a second term in office if the Congress wins the next Assembly polls.
With Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar having similar aspirations, it has triggered a game of one-upmanship between the two leaders.
Congress functionaries hope that Siddaramaiah contesting from Kolar would help the party’s prospects in the districts of Kolar, Chikkaballapura, and Bengaluru Rural, and they recalled his work in ensuring water supply for the drought-affected region by initiating Yettinahole Project, and filling up tanks with KC Valley and HN Valley projects.
According to Congress sources, Kolar is a safe bet for Siddaramaiah, as it will consolidate the AHINDA votes in his favour. Vokkaliga leaders of the party from the region also have pledged support to him.
AHINDA is a Kannada acronym that stands for ‘Alpasankhyataru’ (minorities), ‘Hindulidavaru’ (Backward Classes) and ‘Dalitaru’ (Dalits).
There are around 2.2 lakh voters in Kolar altogether, with SC/ST around 49,000, followed by Vokaligas (around 39,000), Kurubas (26,000-28,000) and Muslims (41,000), and all the OBCs (around 30,000). Others like Brahmins, Jains, Thigala, Baligiga, Kammanaidu, and Christians make up the rest.
The party sources said Siddaramaiah’s supporters conducted surveys and concluded that the seat could ensure a comfortable win for the “Kuruba” leader, and Kolar being close to Bengaluru City could make it easy for him to ensure his presence there often.
Amid fears that a factional rift in the Kolar unit of the party — with former Union minister KH Muniyappa who is upset — might become a drawback to his prospects, the Leader of the Opposition had made attempts to reach out to the sulking leader.
Muniyappa, who has around 10,000-15,000 votes easily, is a plus for Siddaramaiah.
Siddaramaiah even met Muniyappa and joined hands with him on Monday. He was apparently upset with the growing prominence of senior MLA and former Speaker Ramesh Kumar — a Siddaramaiah loyalist — in the Kolar unit.
Senior Congress leader and MLC BK Hariprasad told South First: “He is a senior leader, He has thought this through and studied all the constituencies, and decided to contest from Kolar. And we — from the party — respect his decision and wish him success.”
Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Mahesh G was critical of Siddaramiah’s decision of choosing to contest from Kolar.
He told South First: “Siddaramaiah behaves like a migratory bird searching for better pastures, ignoring the people who gave him a mandate. The people of Chamundeshwari understood Siddaramaiah last time and gave him a befitting reply by defeating him with 36,042 votes. The people of Badami gave him a mandate, and now he has ignored them and he is contesting from Kolar.”
Mahesh added: “Siddaramaiah’s government is known for its hypocrisy, corruption, appeasement politics, and casteist governance. I am requesting the citizens and voters of Kolar to understand his intentions and give him a befitting reply.”
