Siddaramaiah to contest from Chamundeshwari: Karnataka CM may face tough contest in seat where he began his career

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah last week announced that he will contest the upcoming Assembly Election from the Chamundeshwari constituency in Mysuru. His decision to contest from the constituency marks a homecoming of sorts.

Way back in 1983, Siddaramaiah got his first taste of political success in Chamundeshwari, winning the Assembly election on a Lok Dal ticket. The constituency has largely been kind to him, as he won elections there five times and lost twice.

However, it may not be smooth sailing for him this time. According to a report in The News Minute , an internal survey commissioned by the Congress has concluded that Siddaramaiah is likely to lose the election if he contests from Chamundeshwari. Many of his voters went to the Varuna seat after the constituency was split.

So why is the Congress leader taking this gamble?

Earlier, JD(S) state president HD Kumaraswamy had claimed that Siddaramaiah is looking for a safe seat to contest from, like Narasimharaja in Mysuru. He had challenged the chief minister to contest from Chamundeshwari and predicted that he would lose the election, as per a report in Financial Express.  The News Minute has quoted a source close to Siddaramaiah as saying that BJP and JD(S) strategists cornered Siddaramaiah into contesting from there and that if he decides to contest from somewhere else, it will create a perception that the strongest leader of the party is apprehensive of winning.

At present, the MLA from the constituency is GT Deve Gowda from the JD(S). The veteran leader, in an interview with Deccan Chronicle recently, said that he was a supporter of Siddaramaiah from 1983 to 2006. However, the JD(S) leader said that he did not meet his expectations as chief minister.

The JD(S) had posed a tough challenge to Siddaramaiah in the by-election in Chamundeshwari in 2006, as the latter won by a wafer-thin margin of 257 votes. The results then were crucial for Siddaramaiah to score political points over his bete noire JD(S) supremo HD Deve  Gowda, after being expelled from the party. After differences with HD Deve Gowda, he joined the Congress in 2005.

The 2018 polls may also assume special importance for the 69-year-old chief minister as he has said that it would be his last electoral contest. “I’ve decided to fight my last election from Chamundeshwari as I’ve derived my political strength from this segment,” he was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

In this constituency , Vokkaligas constitute the dominant community, followed by the Kurubas, Nayaks, Lingayats and Dalits. The JD(S) cornered a large part of the Vokkaliga vote in 2013, winning 40 seats and 20.2 percent the votes, according to The New Indian Express.  

However, Siddaramaiah would hope to get the support of the Kuruba and Lingayat communities. The chief minister himself belongs to the former community. He has also attempted to curry favour with the Lingayat community by approving minority status for them. In the past, the Lingayats have largely supported BJP in the past and Siddaramaiah, through this move, may have divided their political leanings.

Another reason that the Karnataka chief minister has changed his constituency this time is that his son Yathindra is slated to be in the fray in Varuna, from where he had previously contested. Siddaramaiah, on his part, has thrown a challenge at his rival BS Yeddyurappa, saying, “I challenge Yeddyurappa to contest from Varuna if he is so sure of winning instead of fielding his second son (BY Vijayendra) against my son Yathindra.”

Thus, it is clear that the Chamundeshwari constituency will be among the most-watched ones in the Karnataka Assembly Election. With Congress president Rahul Gandhi offering prayers at a temple here on one his visits to the state, the stage appears set for a heated battle.

With inputs from agencies