MYSURU: Chamundeshwari constituency gave Siddaramaiah some anxious moments in 2006 when counting of votes for a by-election was being held. He scraped through by a margin of 257 votes against Shivabasavaiah, a novice.
Twelve years later in 2018, Siddaramaiah, now Chief Minister, is facing another test on the same turf - his last election by his own claim - against his one-time friend GT Deve Gowda. Chamundeshwari assumes significance as he returns to the constituency which he had left following the close battle that resulted in his ‘political rebirth’ - he has given up his Varuna seat for his doctor son Yathindra as it looks safe for him because of the presence of Ahinda voters.
Siddaramaiah appears to have a fight on his hand in Chamundeshwari against G T Deve Gowda, a former minister, who his solidly backed by JD(S) leaders H D Deve Gowda and H D Kumaraswamy. The JD(S) leadership is determined to defeat Siddaramaiah who reportedly said the party, which once split, would not win more than 20-25 seats this time.
Siddaramaiah’s ‘prediction’ of JD(S) fate irked not only JD(S) workers, but also the dominant Vokkaliga community who wish to see Kumaraswamy as the next chief minister.The JD(S) is making all out efforts to consolidate Vokkaliga voters and reach out to Dalits, Nayakas, Veerashaivas and microscopic communities. It projected Siddaramaiah and Congress as anti-upper caste. It also accused the CM of being anti-Dalit.
The BJP fielded Gopal Rao, a lightweight, in Chamundeshwari, clearly indicating that it has entered into a tacit understanding with the JD(S) to take on the CM. A number of his friend-turned-foes including Prasad and A H Vishwanath have joined hands to defeat him.But, Siddaramaiah appears to be on his guard. He has campaigned for 12 days in Chamundeshwari in the last couple of weeks. He managed to iron out differences with some of his long time Vokkaliga friends and prominent leaders like former MLA Sathyanaraya, hoping to split the community votes. Siddaramaiah also held a series of meetings with Veerashaiva leaders too.
The CM appears to enjoy the good will of Dalits because of his measures like allocation funds.
He is also playing emotional cards saying he wants to bid adieu to electoral politics by winning Chamundeshwari constituency. He had pumped in hundreds of crores of rupees to the constituency for various development works before blowing the poll bugle.