Siddaramaiah dismisses reports about changing constituency ahead of Karnataka Assembly polls

Bengaluru: Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said that he would contest the 2018 Assembly elections from the Chamundeshwari segment in Mysuru district. Dismissing reports that he was mulling changing his Assembly constituency, Siddaramaiah said, “I will contest from Chamundeshwari itself, I’m not going anywhere.” The chief minister’s reiteration comes amid reports citing top party sources that he will be shifting to Hebbal constituency in Bengaluru. [caption id=“attachment_4260177” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah. PTI[/caption] Speaking to reporters at Tumkur, Siddaramaiah wanted to know whether Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who has the authority to issue a ticket to him (to contest the polls), told the media so. Stating that there are 20 constituencies from where he could win, Siddaramaiah had earlier said hewished to contest from Chamundeshwari which is the constituency that gave him political strength and a rebirth. Making his debut in the Assembly in 1983, Siddaramaiah got elected from Chamundeshwari on a Lok Dal Party ticket. He has won from the constituency five times and tasted defeat twice. Siddaramaiah represents Varuna in Mysuru after it became a constituency in 2008 following delimitation. Speculation is rife that the chief minister is keen on fielding his son Yatindra from Varuna. Siddaramaiah has also indicated that the 2018 Assembly polls could “most likely” be his last election. The Congress, which has not named any chief ministerial candidate for the polls due early next year, has announced that Siddaramaiah will be the party’s face during the elections.