BENGALURU: After Congress stopped the release of the book, Nija Kanasugalu, aimed at Siddaramaiah, it is now busy trying to protect the legislature party leader against any future onslaughts by carrying out campaigns on social media.
His supporters are now wondering as to why Siddaramaiah is the target of BJP when he is neither the state nor national president of the party. “Why is the ruling party calling him Siddramullah Khan and equating him with the Muslim ruler Tipu Sultan, against whom there is a virulent campaign by BJP and rightwingers,” they asked.
His close aide and former minister HC Mahadevappa took to Twitter to defend the former chief minister, saying Siddaramaiah’s Nija Kanasugalu or real dreams are for a hunger-free state and proper dwelling, nutritious meal, social justice and basic facilities for all. Congress has done a lot of work to help people realise these dreams of Siddaramaiah during the party’s rule, he added.
Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad said, “They know he is a mass leader and oppressed sections have confidence in him. They are trying to weave a negative image of him because they are scared of him.”Former minister and MLA Priyank Kharge said, “The double engine government has nothing to showcase as achievement and that is why they are attacking Siddaramaiah. This is the first time that a ruling party has nothing to say about its work.”
Political analyst BS Murthy said, “It is not surprising that the Bommai government and its IT cell have been targeting Siddaramaiah over the last several months. They started with calling him Siddramulla Khan. Now, they have brought out a book about him to build a narrative that he is struggling to find a safe constituency to contest the Assembly polls. The BJP high command believes that he needs to be targeted as he is the biggest mass face of Congress in the state. The ruling party has forgotten that it now has no credible backward caste face in the state. KS Eshwarappa could be denied a ticket, while AH Vishwanath from Mysuru is on his way out. Overall, it looks like an ill-advised move by the BJP high command.”
Brand guru Harish Bijoor said, “Politics can be played with positive gloves or without gloves at all. Come election time, the gloves are off. Typically, top leaders are picked. Each side in this four-cornered Karnataka election will have a handful of such leaders with a large base of support. Siddaramaiah is one such.”