GADAG : Every achievement of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah calls for special celebrations in Timmapur village of Gadag district. It was no different on Tuesday when Siddaramaiah created a record of being the longest-serving chief minister of the state surpassing Devaraj Urs.
The villagers organised pujas at all temples of the village and distributed sweets to all.
It is not for nothing that Timmapur is called the Siddaramaiah Grama, as almost all residents here are fans of the CM.
When Siddaramaiah became CM in 2013 and 2023, the whole village celebrated and performed pujas at all temples. There is a reason for this exhilaration as there is a sense of gratitude among villagers for Siddaramaiah. He first visited the village in the 1990s when he contested parliamentary elections from the Koppal constituency.
He listened to their woes and worked hard to address them. It so happens that the majority of villagers here are from the Kuruba community, to which Siddaramaiah too belongs. The bonding was instant and it has sustained through the decades.
When the villagers were struggling without jobs in 2013 and migration to cities had become a common phenomenon, Siddaramaiah provided them with jobs through various government-sponsored schemes. He also ensured electricity and piped water connections to all homes. In February last year, a group of villagers carried a photograph of Siddaramaiah to Prayagraj and performed an abhisheka, praying for his continuation as CM.
Yellappa Babari, a Timmapur resident, said, “There are many reasons behind calling this village Siddaramaiah Gram.
It started when those from neighbouring villages started making fun of us for being staunch supporters and fans of Siddaramaiah. The tag stuck, though it is not the official name of our village.”