The scorching sun may have long since set. The people, in conservative Chamarajpet, already retired indoors, after the hustle and bustle of the hectic day.
Though late by close to two hours, he, nevertheless arrived, to launch his charm offensive.
The hubbub on his arrival drew folks onto balconies and doorsteps, turning Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the man of the moment.
With three spotlights mounted on the open mini truck pitching him in full glare, Siddaramaiah assiduously launched his campaign for the party’s young turk Rizwan Arshad.
Given that it was his first public rally to woo Bangalore Central constituency’s voters to cast their lot with his partyman, self-declared atheist Siddaramaiah, was, however, quick to ensure he invoked divine blessings as he set upon his sojourn.
After perfunctory offerings to the deities at Male Mahadeshwara Temple, and sporting fiery vermilion tilak on his forehead, the chief minister embarked on the one kilometer journey between 8 and 9 pm.
With customary wave of hands and folded palms, Siddaramaih sought votes from curious citizens who spilled out of their homes thanks to the blaring speakers that accompanied the chief minister’s motorcade.
While some passersby recalled old stories of alleged betrayal by H D Deve Gowda denying Siddaramaiah the CM’s post in 2006, others mocked the slogans of ‘Vote for Congress’ suggesting ‘Vote for Anna,’ after popular Anna Bhagya scheme of the Congress government.
Tired, after a long-drawn day, which included a similar campaign trip to Tumkur and Cabinet meeting, and reticent, as goes his nature, Siddaramaiah, sought to attract the audience with his proverbial slow motion actions.
He ensured that those who waved at him received a smile and a wave in response. The end result of his belated appearance and subsequent snail-paced sojourn across the constituency being huge traffic pile-up.
While a few hapless commuters stoically bore it as the chief strength and his convoy waded past, others, however, sneered and cursed their luck being stuck in traffic jam for close to 45 minutes.
The sum of Siddaramaiah’s campaign being that Congress was trying to cash in on its programmes at the State level, projecting its recent victory as opposed to achievements of UPA regime at the Centre in the past 10 years.