The sacrifice made by Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah for his son may not go waste.Yathindra is well placed in Varuna Assembly constituency in the state which he has vacated for him.
The constituency had elected Siddaramaiah twice and was considered by every body who was some body as a safe seat. But he shifted to nearby Chamundeshwari because he wanted to offer him a seat where his victory was more certain. Both the constituencies are close to this old city.
His son is a political novice and entering the polical arena for the first time. Therefore, any other seat would not have been as suitable.
Besides his father nursing the constituency for long, his elder had made frequent trips to the area and was familiar with a lot of people who mattered. As Sidda was busy in his official works he had been made head of a constituency committee which was set up to oversee developmental works.
He is no more. He died in 2016, leaving the unfinished tasks for his brother to complete. He has been visiting the constituency for last one and a half years but is not as well known to people as is his father and his brother.
The chief minister’s son is breathing easy because of them. Another factor favouring him is that two other major political parties, the BJP and the JDS, have not fielded political heavyweights against him.
The situation is completeliy different for his father in Chamundeshwari because a sitting JDS member is pitted agaianst nim and the party leader H D Kumaraswamy is going there every now and then to campaign against him.
However, he is contesting from one more seat, Badami, which is dominated by his Kuruba caste . That may help him.
Varuna has a different tale. Besides the blessing of his father, Yathidra has goodwill of his supporters who are large in numbers because he represented the constituency for ten years and was at the helm of affairs in the state.
“We will vote for him because of his father who had launched a number of welfare schemes in the area. These good roads that you are were constructed during his first five-year term. Besides roads, he provided power to agriculture and industry (sectors)”, claimed R. Shekhar.
The other supporters of 37-year-old Yathindra, a doctor by profession, has almost the same story to tell. They all agree that if Yeddyurappa’s son, Vijayendra ,had been in the fray the situation might have been different. His name was dropped at the last moment.
Yeddyurappa is a popular Lingayat leader of the state. He is also the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate. So, if his son was his main opponent the CM’s son would not have been as comfortable.
One of his supporters made no bones about it. “He might have won even then but the victory margin would have been much lower”. The denial of ticket to Yeddy’s son has surprised many in the party, too, because he was assuured about it and had begun canvassing in the constituency.
Perhaps, the BJP tried to prove by this act that it was against dynastic politics. However, it is not an issue with Siddaramaiah supporters. “Children of politicians also have ambitions. What is wrong if a politician’s son seeks election?”, asked R V Vijay.
The BJP has a different take on it.
Hindusthan Samachar/ R. Narayan/ Shri Ram Shaw
