Now, pressure on Siddaramaiah to contest from North Karnataka

Bengaluru, Sept 19: A section of Congress leaders is said to be mounting pressure on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to contest from North Karnataka region in the next Assembly polls to counter the BJP, which is planning to field its chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa from the region.

Excise Minister R B Timmapura has reportedly urged Siddaramaiah to contest from any of the constituencies in Bagalkot district. Similarly, senior leader and former minister Satish Jharkiholi is learnt to have requested Siddaramaiah to contest from Athani constituency in Belagavi district.

The leaders are of the view that Siddaramaiah contesting from North Karnataka will not only help the party counter Yeddyurappa if the he decides to contest from a constituency in North Karnataka but also boosts the morale of the Congress workers in the region. The party high command has already declared that the next election will be fought under Siddaramaiah’s leadership.

Congress sources said Siddaramaiah had been planning to contest from the Chamundeshwari constituency in Mysuru district in the next polls, leaving the Varuna seat to his son Dr Yatindra. It is also speculated that the party may ask him to contest from two places – one from south and another from North Karnataka. Currently, Siddaramaiah is a MLA from Varuna.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, KPCC working president S R Patil said the party workers are demanding that Siddaramaiah should contest from a constituency in Bagalkot district in the next election. But nothing has been finalised yet, he added.

Patil also said the BJP’s decision to field Yeddyurappa from North Karnataka will not have any impact on the Congress in the election. “Why Yeddyurappa? Let both Modi (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) and Amit Shah (BJP national president) contest from North Karnataka. The Congress is not worried,” he stated.

Ready contest from anywhere: CM

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Monday that he was open to the idea of contesting the next Assembly election from north Karnataka.

“Many people have invited me to contest from North Karnataka. Once in the past, I contested the Lok Sabha elections from Koppal. I’m ready to contest from any part of the state. The final decision will be taken by the party high command,” Siddaramaiah told reporters in Chikkaballapur where he inaugurated various developmental works.

In the 1991 Lok Sabha polls, Siddaramaiah, then a Janata Dal candidate, lost to the Congress’ Basavaraj Patil Anwari from Koppal.