BENGALURU: Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s announcement that if voters in the Varuna Assembly constituency ensure the victory of BJP candidate V Somanna then he will be given an “important position” is making the election tough for Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah, who is one of the frontrunners for the chief minister’s post if the party is elected to power after the May 10 Assembly polls.
The former chief minister will now have to work harder in his own backyard, which was till now considered a safe seat for him. Of the total electorate of 2,34,533 in the constituency, around 60,000 voters are Lingayats, the community that Somanna belongs to. While Shah didn’t specify the position that the former minister would get, the mere mention of Somanna becoming a “bada admi” has enthused the rank and file of the saffron party in the constituency.
Political analysts wondered if it was the CM’s post that would be on offer as a way to counter the narrative built by Siddaramaiah that the voters could see the next chief minister by electing him.
Though it is known in party circles that Somanna is not on good terms with former chief minister and Lingayat strongman BS Yediyurappa, Shah ensured that both flanked him during campaigning to send out a message that the two leaders are working together.
‘Elders back Siddu, youth for BJP’
But Lingayats are not united and may not vote for a candidate en bloc, experts analysed. Local residents said that community elders still support Siddaramaiah, while youngsters back BJP. While Somanna is seen regularly in Varuna, Siddaramaiah, who is one of the star campaigners for Congress, was on a whirlwind tour of Koppal, Gangavathi, Bagalkot, Badami, Kundgol and Dharwad on Tuesday and Basavangudi and other areas in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
Sources said Siddaramaiah will stay put in Varuna from May 7. His wife Parvathi has been staying in Siddaramanahundi, which is his birthplace that falls within the constituency. His son and sitting MLA from the constituency Dr Yathindra and Smitha, wife of Siddaramaiah’s late son Rakesh, are campaigning actively.