Support for Siddaramaiah Is Strong in His South Karnataka Village and its Surroundings

Mysuru: Flanked by lush green fields, Siddaramanahundi is an idyllic south Karnataka village. Neatly laid out houses, clean streets and small ponds reveal the prosperity of the hamlet. The village, however, does not stand out merely for its scenic surroundings, but has shot to fame as Siddaramaiah's original home. The former Congress chief minister is still the party’s most popular leader in the state.

A narrow road takes you to Siddaramaiah’s modest house, where he grew up with meagre household earnings. In the last few weeks, it has turned into a hub for visitors throughout the day. Some come to campaign for him in the upcoming assembly elections; some come to ask his family whether they could be of some help; others visit only to give critical feedback.

Siddaramanahundi village. Photo: Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta

As his party’s tallest leader in Karnataka, Siddaramaiah is hardly canvassing in Varuna, from where he is contesting the 2023 assembly polls. The last time he was here was between April 18 and 20, after which he has been canvassing in other seats for different Congress candidates. In his absence, his son Yathindra, also the current MLA from Varuna, has taken on the responsibility to canvas for his father. He has roped in many of his family members like his sister-in-law, nephew and cousins to manage the campaign.

Also read: Karnataka: Congress Headed for Clear Majority, BJP Could Perform Its Worst, Says Pre-Poll Survey

The septuagenarian leader has represented Varuna twice after it was culled out of the former Chamudeshwari seat in the last delimitation exercise. He represented Chamundeshwari six times before Varuna since 1983, during which period he earned a reputation of being an honest, able administrator. His popularity rose also because he is known as one of the very few blemish-free leaders in the state. Some say he is arrogant, but his supporters defend him as honest. In 2013, he secured a majority government for the Congress after many years. More importantly, he ran a stable government through the five years in a state where stability has been elusive.

Siddaramanahundi village. Photo: Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta

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In Siddarmanahundi and neighbouring villages, he is revered as the one who fulfilled many of the region’s needs like irrigation projects, low-interest loans for farmers, and roads. The poor of the region talk highly about him for “being there” in the bad times.

“For us, Siddaramaiah is the only one in the electoral fray. No one can match him. His win is certain,” said a 65-year-old woman named Prabha in Varuna.

Twenty-one-year-old Madhukar, sitting by her side, agrees. “People are betting big time on his win. Look, we have known Siddaramaiah as a person who is always present in our tough times. Others can come and go but he will stay,” he said.

Madhukar was pointing at Siddarmaiah’s rival V. Somanna, who the BJP has fielded in Varuna. As one of the seniormost Lingayat leaders in the party, the BJP by fielding Somanna has attempted to turn the contest in Varuna into a pitched battle. Somanna has been campaigning aggressively in the region, promising to turn Varuna into another Bengaluru.

Somanna represents Bengaluru’s Govindarajanagar seat, and is the current housing and infrastructure development minister in the B.S. Bommai’s cabinet. The BJP leadership has entrusted him to take on Siddaramaiah in Varuna, and has also given him Chamarajanagar in south Karnataka to contest. Observers say that the move to send Somanna to contest two tough seats could be BJP’s way to rejig the state leadership without hurting Lingayat sentiments.

A tea stall in Varuna. Photo: Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta

Although Somanna has taken the challenge, and is sure to corner some of the Lingayat votes in the region, voters across communities may end up preferring Siddaramaiah over any other candidate.

“BJP workers say that Somanna has done very good work in Bengaluru. But who knows what he has done. We have seen what Siddaramaiah has done here. And more importantly, he is not an outsider like Somanna. Siddaramaiah has always been accessible,” said Sharath, a Varuna-based carpenter.

Sharath. Photo: Ajoy Ashirward Mahaprashasta

At Siddaramaiah’s house, however, the former chief minister’s aides are not taking the contest lightly. “Somanna is giving a tough fight. The Janata Dal (Secular) candidate Bharati Shankar is mostly campaigning among Dalits to undercut the Congress. We can’t be overconfident. We need to bring all communities together in support of Siddaramaiah on the basis of Congress’s poll promises,” said Mahadev, Siddaramaiah’s nephew who is assisting Yathindra in day-to-day logistics.

Also read: Karnataka: In Quest For Majority, Congress and BJP Look to Weaken Each Other in Their Strongholds

In 2018, Siddaramaiah had vacated Varuna for his son and contested from the neighbouring Chamundeshwari. He lost by a big margin to Janata Dal (Secular)’s G.T. Devegowda, but retained his assembly seat by winning Badami in north Karnataka, his second seat. In 2023, he chose to contest only from Varuna.

Siddaramaiah’s younger brother Sidde Gowda, bearing a striking resemblance to his elder brother, says, “Last time, some who we trusted betrayed us in Chamundeshwari. But Siddaramaiah isn’t taking any chances this time. He has a very trustworthy team now.”

Sidde Gowda. Photo: Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta

The BJP, on the other hand, has turned Varuna into a prestige battle. The saffron party is influential only in pockets of South Karnataka but has focused its energies on Varuna. “Top BJP leaders are campaigning for Somanna. The RSS has sent a team of volunteers to canvas for him too. While Siddaramaiah is seeking votes on governance issues, the BJP is trying to corner a large chunk of Lingayat and Dalit votes in its favour. The contest will only become interesting as days go by,” says T. Gururaj, editor of Hello Mysore.

Gururaj adds, “The saffron party is aware that Siddaramaiah’s statewide popularity is the greatest asset for the Congress. Even if it wants, it can’t target him with central agencies as Siddaramaiah has a clean record. Most of the other Congress leaders, including D.K. Shivakumar, are already under the scanner of central agencies. It is important for the BJP to defeat Siddaramaiah, who people in Karnataka respect a lot.”

The election heat in Varuna is intensifying. And many loyalists have hedged their bets on Siddarmamaiah’s win. “I have already put a bet of Rs 50,000 on him. He better win this time,” says the carpenter Sharath, as he casually walks by.

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