Chamarajanagar jinx still haunts men in corridors of power

Siddaraju recalled that the only CM who thumbed his nose at the jinx was Siddaramaiah, visiting Chamarajanagar nine times.
File photo of family members of the Covid-19 patients who lost their lives owing to a lack of oxygen, grieve outside the Chamarajanagar District Hospital. (File photo| Udayashankar S, EPS)
File photo of family members of the Covid-19 patients who lost their lives owing to a lack of oxygen, grieve outside the Chamarajanagar District Hospital. (File photo| Udayashankar S, EPS)

BENGALURU: Four days after demitting office, former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa took a special chopper to Gundlupet, in Chamarajanagar district -- probably secure in the fact that the ‘Chamarajanagar jinx’ can no longer dethrone him. Despite remaining in power for 730 days, Yediyurappa did not visit the ‘jinxed’ district, preferring instead to return from MM Hills. Many other chief ministers have similarly stopped at MM Hills.

It appears that the Chamarajanagar jinx continues to haunt men in power. Yediyurappa’s visit to Gundlupet surprised the media, so much so that one reporter ventured to ask him why he had not visited Chamarajanagar when 24 people died due to lack of oxygen. Yediyurappa avoided the embarrassing query, and left. 

The list of chief ministers who have skipped Chamarajanagar is long. During his entire 14-month tenure in 2018, HD Kumaraswamy did not visit the district, although he did drop in during his previous term in 2007, three months before he was scheduled to hand over power to the BJP.Yediyurappa did not venture into the district in 2008, and neither did DV Sadananda Gowda. Jagadish Shettar did visit the district in 2013, a few months before his government fell.

SM Krishna did not once visit Chamarajanagar, though former Karnataka Media Academy chairman Siddaraju recalled that Krishna had visited Talikota in Muddebihal in 2004, and did not win the elections. Talikota carries the same jinx as Chamarajanagar, or so goes the legend. Siddaraju recalled that the only CM who thumbed his nose at the jinx was Siddaramaiah, visiting Chamarajanagar nine times. But he, too, lost the Chamundeshwari seat in 2018.

Former CM J H Patel, known to be a rationalist, didn’t dare enter Chamarajanagar town, restricting himself to MM Hills, which is also what ‘Rajahuli’ (royal tiger) Yediyurappa did.Political analyst BS Murthy said, ‘’Except Siddaramaiah, the last six chief ministers skipped Chamarajanagar. It remains to be seen if ‘rationalist’ CM Basavaraj Bommai breaks the tradition.’’

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