MYSURU: Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah on Saturday campaigned in his Varuna Assembly constituency in Mysuru district. Undeterred by the scorching April heat, Sidaramaiah, along with his son Yathindra and others, kicked off the campaign from Suttur village and offered puja at Siddeshwara Temple and garlanded the statue of Dr BR Ambedkar at Karya.
As Siddaramaiah moved in an open SUV, villagers cutting across caste lines and age lined up along the streets to greet the Congress leader in Karepura, Hadya, Chinamballi, Tagadur, Varahalli, Chunchanahalli, Hanumanapura and other villages. The residents of Tagaduru even forced Siddaramaiah to get down from the vehicle to receive garlands from them.
Addressing a gathering, Siddaramaiah said he had successfully contested from Varuna in 2008 and 2013 and went on to become the Opposition leader and chief minister. “I appeal to you to support me,” he urged the gathering. Listing out the Congress’ guarantees — 200 units of free power to every family, Rs 2,000 cash incentive for every woman head of the family, Rs 10 kg free rice to each low-income family and Rs 3,000 per month for unemployed graduates — Siddaramaiah said, “I have responded to your (voters’) problems and needs.
BJP and JDS candidates have not done anything to Varuna and are not related to the constituency. They are not in favour of backward communities, Dalits or farmers.” He also took a dig at BJP candidate V Somanna, saying as district and housing minister, the BJP candidate neither allotted a single house to the constituency nor visited the segment to hear the grievances of people. “People of Varuna dislike vindictive politics. I don’t have any personal grudge against BJP leader BL Santhosh. But RSS and BJP are into vindictive politics and want to defeat me in Varuna,” he said. Saying that the Constitution was under threat in the BJP rule, he accused the state government of being corrupt.
On Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha said that Siddaramaiah is scared and that is why he is visiting the constituency frequently, the former chief minister asked, “Who is Pratap Simha? How is he related to Varuna? Why should I be scared? I will even campaign two days before the elections.” Taking a jibe at Siddaramaiah, Simha had tweeted that the former, who had announced that he would campaign at Varuna for a day, had returned for a second day and will again visit because of the fear of losing to Somanna.