Siddaramaiah working overtime as win on home turf will help tighten his grip over party
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah is pushing himself hard to wrest the neighbouring Lok Sabha constituencies of Mysuru and Chamarajanagar (SC) from BJP as he probably sees the outcome as a vote on his own performance. A win would help him cement his position in Congress and the government. In both constituencies, NDA and Congress candidates are fresh faces.
In Mysuru, a seat Congress last won in 2009, the entry of Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the royal family, as BJP candidate has made the contest a tight one for Congress. By picking Wadiyar, BJP has tried to nullify anti-incumbency as sitting MP Pratap Simha has completed two terms. Mysureans have always seen members of the royal family beyond the narrow lens of caste.
Congress has fielded M Lakshman, a Vokkaliga, going for the community after 47 years. The community voters are dominant in Mysuru district, and the CM is betting on these votes, besides its traditional votes from the Kuruba (OBC) and minority communities. The absence of SDPI and BSP candidates, according to local political analyst Kudli Gururaj, might help Congress get some extra votes.
Congress holds five out of eight assembly seats in the Mysuru seat. JDS holds two seats and BJP one. The CM has asked his MLAs to place before voters his government's performance card on the guarantees, which were given prior to the assembly polls last year, and also tell them about the promises in the Congress manifesto.
Lok Sabha Elections#Elections With
- All
- Uttar Pradesh
- Maharashtra
- Tamil Nadu
