Karnataka civic polls: Siddaramaiah charisma fails to help Congress in Mysuru

The Congress not only failed to get the magic number on its own, but was pushed to the second spot with the BJP emerging as the single largest party.

Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has suffered yet another jolt on his home turf of Mysuru (File | EPS)

MYSURU: Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has suffered yet another jolt on his home turf of Mysuru after he failed to lead the Congress to a majority in the Mysuru City Corporation election. The Congress not only failed to get the magic number on its own, but was pushed to the second spot with the BJP emerging as the single largest party. Of the 65 seats, the BJP won 22, followed by Congress (19), JD-S (18), BSP (1) and Independents (5).

Election to the corporation was a prestigious one for Siddaramaiah as he had wanted to bring back his party to power after the defeat it suffered in the recent Assembly election.By winning the corporation, he wanted to send a strong message to party leaders and also his detractors that he has scored above all by wresting power without the support of JD(S), the traditional arch rival.

However, Siddaramaiah who is yet to recover from the shock defeat in the Chamundeshwari Assembly constituency, faced a further setback in the ULB polls. While focusing on the corporation, he had given a free hand to the party MLAs to pick candidates for the different wards. He personally monitored the campaign and held a number of meetings. Siddaramaiah believed that the urban AHINDA (Kannada acronym for minorities, Dalits and backward castes) voters would not repeat the “mistake” they made in the Assembly polls, and would throw their weight behind the Congress. But, local issues, candidates and caste mattered more than the development card played by Siddaramaiah.

The Congress won only one seat in Chamraja constituency that is dominated by Vokkaligas. BJP bulldozed into Congress in Krishnaraja constituency winning 11 of 20 seats with the only face saver for Congress coming from Narashimraja, where it won 13 out of 23 seats.

This defeat comes as a big blow to Siddaramaiah’s charisma when the party is preparing for the Lok Sabha polls. The fractured mandate is sure to compel him and the Congress at large to seek JD(S) support to share power in the Mysuru corporation.