BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is set to boost the Congress campaign in the Maharashtra Assembly polls as he visits the neighbouring state on November 15.
A formidable AHINDA leader and a Kuruba icon, Siddaramaiah is expected to rally the Dhangar-Kuruba vote bank — an influential bloc of over one crore — that could tilt the polls.
During his two-day tour, Siddaramaiah will address a series of rallies to woo the community. His visit is a calculated push to build influence and secure a critical foothold in southern Maharashtra. His campaigning will especially be around Sangli and Kolhapur, where Dhangar-Kurubas are in considerable numbers, confirmed sources in the CMO.
Former minister and guarantees implementation committee chairman HM Revanna, firing back at recent criticisms from Maharashtra BJP leaders, said, “The guarantees are working perfectly fine. All disbursements have been made up to August. November’s emoluments will be made by the month-end. Siddaramaiah will tell Maharashtra voters the guarantees are working perfectly.”
Revanna said that a kinship exists between Karnataka’s Kurubas and Maharashtra’s Dhangars, both sheep-rearing communities. “The Kuruba community stretches across India with a population of 12 crore. Their unity, from Karnataka to Maharashtra, is powerful,” he stressed.