A stirring contemporary version of the majestic battles fought in the erstwhile Vijayanagara empire is being played out in Chamundeshwari, where Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will play lone warrior against the combined might of his rivals the Janata Dal (Secular) and the BJP.
Chamundeshwari, the biggest seat in the Mysuru division that comprises 11 Assembly segments, is symbolic of the big picture in Karnataka ahead of the State elections — that of Siddaramaiah versus the rest.
There are several reasons why the Chief Minister’s choice of Chamundeshwari is the ultimate dare — even the Congress’ internal surveys have classified it as ‘not safe’. Moreover, in the semi-urban seat with a population of approximately 2.8 lakh voters, over 70,000 are Vokkaligas, traditional supporters of the JD(S). Also, in a 2006 by-poll, Siddaramaiah only scrapped through, with a margin of 257 votes.
That’s not all: the BJP has lent a helping hand to the JD(S) candidate — sitting MLA and party heavyweight GT Devegowda — by fielding a virtual nobody. The first and only tryst that Gopal Rao has had at the hustings was a gram panchayat election where he got all of 72 votes.
The BJP clearly expects its traditional vote base of urban voters in Mysuru — Brahmins, Hindutva-aligned smaller OBCs, et al — to gravitate towards the JD(S). The BJP officially dismisses any talk of an understanding with the JD(S). “You say Gopal Rao has not contested any election. You say that he lost even a panchayat election. But people vote for the BJP, Narendra Modi and Hindutva. They do not vote for candidates. When I first contested elections, I was a nobody. I won because of the party and the organisation,” former deputy chief minister KS Eshwarappa told BusinessLine .
However, BJP insiders in Mysuru concede that Gopal Rao is actually a “dummy candidate” in favour of the JD(S) in a “very tough contest”. Significantly, a senior BJP worker told BusinessLine that Siddaramiah has the “upper hand”.
“Kumaraswamy dared Sidaramaiah to contest from Chamundeshwari and he rose to the challenge. He has made a success of community-specific welfare programmes, which will attract Dalits and a number of OBC communities. Then, his own clan of Kurubas are in a significant number — about 40,000. And the fact that he is the CM gives it a momentum. I think he will manage to win and re-establish his authority by contesting from a difficult seat,” said the BJP leader, not wishing to be named.
Admittedly, Siddaramaiah has won five times from Chamundeshwari in the past, but the demographic composition of the constituency has altered after another constituency, Varuna, was hived off in the process of delimitation in 2008. The Chief Minister has pushed his son, Yathindra Siddaramiah, as a candidate from Varuna, which is, by all means, a cakewalk for the quiet and low-profile debutant.
“It is a tough seat and it is also the reason why my father took up the challenge. If the tallest leader opts for a safe seat, what sort of commander is he? It proves how confident he is of the welfare measures, of his work and sincerity that will tilt the election in the Congress’ favour,” Yathindra told BusinessLine .
The Chief Minister has also decided to contest another seat, Badami in North Karnataka, where the BJP has fielded the controversial B Sriramulu, who is an associate of the Reddy brothers. In both seats, the CM has set himself a very difficult task. In Chamundehswari particularly, it is a tough call.