Siddaramaiah to contest Karnataka Assembly polls from Kolar
Putting all speculations to rest, former Karnataka chief minister and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Monday (January 9) announced that he will be contesting the forthcoming Karnataka Assembly elections from Kolar constituency.
The septuagenarian, who was trying to zero in on a “safe seat”, had been giving indications about choosing Kolar for some time now, by holding a series of meetings with party leaders from the district.
“I have decided to be a candidate for the next election from Kolar,” Siddaramaiah said amid loud cheers from the crowd at a public meeting. He, however, added that it is subject to approval from the party high command.
Pressure from Congress leaders
Congress leaders and workers from Kolar have been exerting pressure on Siddaramaiah, who is also the Congress Legislature Party leader, to contest from Kolar. He had received similar requests from Varuna, Badami, Hebbal, Koppal and Chamrajpet segments among others.
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His cryptic statement in November last year about coming back to the constituency for the filing of nomination had led to speculation that he may contest the 2023 Assembly election from Kolar.
Siddaramaiah, who currently represents Badami segment of Bagalkote district in northern Karnataka, had hinted that he may not contest from there, citing his inability to give more time for people and party workers of the constituency.
Interestingly, sitting Kolar MLA Srinivasa Gowda, who has switched loyalty from JD(S) to Congress, had earlier indicated that he will not be fighting polls and wants Siddaramaiah to contest.
Last polls for Congress veteran
Siddaramaiah, who has announced that 2023 Assembly polls would be his last, had made it clear that he would not contest from Chamundeshwari. As the then sitting chief minister, he lost the 2018 polls in Chamundeshwari to JD(S) candidate GT Deve Gowda by 36,042 votes. He, however, won Badami, the other constituency from where he had contested and defeated B Sriramulu (BJP) by 1,696 votes.
Making his debut in the Assembly in 1983, Siddaramaiah had got elected from Chamundeshwari on a Lok Dal Party ticket. He has won five times from this constituency and tasted defeat thrice.
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After neighbouring Varuna became a constituency in 2008 following delimitation, Siddaramaiah represented it till he vacated the seat for his son Dr Yathindra (now MLA) in the 2018 Assembly polls and went back to his old constituency of Chamundeshwari.
Shivakumar too eyeing CM’s post
Siddaramaiah, who was chief minister from 2013 to 2018, is nursing ambitions for a second term in office, if the party wins the next Assembly polls. With Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar too having similar aspirations, it has triggered a game of one-upmanship between the two leaders.
Congress functionaries hope that Siddaramaiah contesting from Kolar will brighten the party’s prospects in the districts of Kolar, Chikkaballapura and Bengaluru Rural, and they recalled his work in ensuring water supply for the drought-affected region by initiating Yettinahole Project, and filling up tanks with KC Valley and HN Valley projects.
Kolar safe bet, reveal surveys
According to party sources, Kolar is a safe bet for Siddaramaiah as it will consolidate AHINDA votes in his favour and Vokkaliga leaders of the party from the region also have pledged support to him. AHINDA is a Kannada acronym that stands for Alpasankhyataru (minorities), Hindulidavaru (Backward Classes) and Dalitaru (Dalits).
They said Siddaramaiah’s supporters have conducted surveys and have concluded that the seat can ensure a comfortable win for the “Kuruba” leader, and Kolar being close to Bengaluru could make it easy for him to ensure his presence there often.
Factional feud may hit prospects
Amid apprehensions that a factional rift in the Kolar unit of the party, with former Union minister KH Muniyappa upset, may take a toll on his prospects, Siddaramaiah had made attempts to reach out to the sulking leader. He had even met Muniyappa before leaving for Kolar on Monday. Muniyappa is upset with the increasing dominance of senior MLA and former Speaker Ramesh Kumar, a Siddaramaiah loyalist, in the party’s Kolar unit.
(With agency inputs)
