Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah said on Saturday the Congress high command will decide his constituency for the upcoming Assembly election amid indications that he might not stand from Kolar, a segment that could be ‘risky’ for him.
Apparently, former AICC president Rahul Gandhi himself nudged Siddaramaiah to reconsider his plan to contest from Kolar. It is said that internal Congress surveys have shown that Siddaramaiah would face a tough fight -- even defeat -- at Kolar.
“I will contest from wherever the high command decides,” Siddaramaiah said.
The ambiguity sparked rumours that Siddaramaiah would move back to Varuna, his native now represented by his son Dr Yathindra who has offered to vacate the seat.
Asked if he would contest from Kolar and Varuna, Siddaramiah said: “According to me, the high command will not ask me to contest from two seats.”
According to sources, Congress is worried that Vokkaliga and SC (Left) voters, who make up a big chunk in the Kolar segment, might vote against Siddaramaiah. Also, if the fight gets tough, Siddaramaiah will be confined to Kolar, making him unavailable for the party’s campaign elsewhere.
Siddaramaiah, arguably the tallest mass leader for Congress in Karnataka who wants a second term as CM, is seen as the biggest threat to the BJP.
“I had told you long back that Siddaramaiah will contest from Varuna. I don’t know why he had to pretend that he would contest from Kolar,” BJP veteran B S Yediyurappa said.
In 2018, Siddaramaiah was the incumbent chief minister when he decided to vacate Varuna for his son and contest from two constituencies -- Chamundeshwari and Badami. He lost Chamundeshwari badly, but managed to win Badami by just 1,696 votes. Ever since, Siddaramaiah has said that Badami is too far away.
Prompted by news about Siddaramaiah’s uncertainty, BJP’s Kolar ticket aspirant Varthur Prakash met Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and held talks.
Prakash, a former aide of Siddaramaiah, joined BJP in 2022 after a fallout. “If Siddaramaiah has guts he should contest against me from Kolar,” Prakash challenged.
“Siddaramaiah could have announced that he would contest from any of the 50 constituencies where Kurubas are decisive. But he chose to announce Kolar. He just wanted to create confusion,” Prakash said, claiming that he is ahead of Siddaramaiah by at least 30,000 votes in the constituency.
Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah cancelled his tour of Kolar on March 19 and 21 adding to the disappointment of Congress leaders from Kolar.