BENGALURU: Faced with a formidable opposition in his home turf Chamundeshwari in Mysuru district, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is said to have decided to contest the May 12 assembly polls from a second seat — a ‘safe constituency’ in North Karnataka.
Siddaramaiah, who had all along ruled out retreating from Chamundeshwari, is all set to contest from Badami too. But contesting from a second seat may send a wrong signal to voters in Mysuru region who may see it as a weakening of his hold. While the list of Congress candidates is yet to be announced, party president Rahul Gandhi had given a free hand to Siddaramaiah to take a decision on contesting from two seats.
“He will be contesting from Badami (Bagalkot district),” Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) working president S R Patil told TNIE after a meeting with Siddaramaiah on Thursday. “During the meeting, we requested him to contest from Badami as that would help the party in the entire North Karnataka region. He (the CM) told us he is willing to do so. Now, it is confirmed,” Patil said.
Siddaramaiah told the party leaders that he would convey their request to the party high command. To prepare the ground for the second constituency, Siddaramaiah held a marathon meeting with party leaders from Badami, which is seen as a safer seat. Badami MLA B B Chimmankatti, who was also present at the meeting, is said to have assured the CM that all leaders would work unitedly to ensure his victory.
According to Congress leaders, unlike in Chamundeshwari, Siddaramaiah will not find it difficult to win from Badami, which is a Kuruba- and Lingayat-dominated constituency. While the Kurubas across the state had backed Siddaramaiah, who belongs to the community, in the last election, this time around, the party hopes to get support from Lingayats too as the state has taken a decision to accord minority religion tag to the community.
Patil said that before inviting the CM to contest from North Karnataka, the party leaders from the region had discussed it extensively. “CM contesting from Badami will help the party win maximum number of seats in the region,” Patil said.