MYSURU: With Housing Minister V Somanna facing former chief minister Siddaramaiah in Varuna and Chamarajanagar constituencies, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has deputed his confidant Dilip Kumar Jaiswal as the central observer to manage the campaign and work closely with the cadres.
The party is campaigning aggressively in Varuna constituency, dominated by Lingayats, Dalits, Schedule Tribes, Kuruba, and other communities to cut into traditional Congress votes. The party has also planned to bring in Chief Minister Basvaraj Bommai, Lingayat strongman BS Yediyurappa and a set of other Dalit leaders to campaign, and also galvanise anti-Siddaramaiah forces within the Congress to aim for a repeat of Chamundeshwari election results. Somanna and his company have been told to keep Siddaramaiah busy in Varuna so that he is unable to campaign across the state.
Jaiswal has asked the cadres to give him daily updates about Chamarajanagar development, defuse dissidence, rope in community leaders, and if the aspirants do not fall in line, ensure that the campaigning is not hit in Chamarajanagar as Somanna will be tied up in Varuna.
Meanwhile, Somanna began his campaigning in Chamarajanagar on Saturday, which will continue for two days. His wife Shyala called on BJP leader and ticket aspirant Nagashree Pratap to seek her support. Family members are preparing for a massive rally while he files his nomination on April 19.