Will Siddaramaiah's younger son enter politics?

Bengaluru, Aug 24: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's younger son Yathindra says he will visit his father's constituency Varuna in Mysuru at least once or twice a week.

With his elder brother Rakesh's demise, Dr Yathindra feels he should act as a bridge between the people of the constituency and his father. Unlike his father and brother, Dr Yathindra, a health professional, has stayed away from politics.

On Sunday, he visited the family house in Ramakrishna Nagar in Mysuru, where he interacted with some representatives from the Varuna constituency. This sparked off speculation about his possible foray into politics.

On Tuesday, Dr Yathindra said he is not sure about his future plans. “But I have decided to keep in touch with the people of the constituency to address their grievances for the next one-and-a-half years. I have a diagnostic centre in Bengaluru. It will not be very difficult for me to take time off from my profession and visit Varuna once or twice a week,” he said.

He said that after his brother's demise, the people of the constituency started reaching out to him and advising him that he should step in, as they felt “deserted”.

“The people have no direct access to my father and they had expressed their concerns. I have not decided to enter politics or even join the party. My father has appointed a lot of officers to oversee development works in Varuna, and I will act as a coordinator,” he added.

Stating that he had never discussed politics with his brother, he said that he was surprised to see the rapport Rakesh had established with the people.

“My brother and I rarely met, and never discussed politics. But after his death, my mother requested me to step in. She does not want anybody taking undue advantage of our situation,” he added. Dr Yathindra said that his father had neither asked him to oversee activities in Varuna nor had he taken objection to his latest decision.