Congress high command opposed to Siddaramaiah’s Chamundeshwari contest

There is still no clarity on whether Karnataka Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah would contest from the Chamundeshwari assembly constituency. While the CM is keen on contesting the seat, the high command is however against it.

With reports emerging that Siddaramaiah may not have it easy in the constituency, the high command is suggesting another seat for him. The CM, however, is keen on contesting the seat and is trying to coax the high command that it would be beneficial for the party.

The high command is however jittery and feels that the opposition would go all out to defeat him. Moreover, G T Deve Gowda of the JD(S) is a strong candidate and holds sway over the voters at Chamundeshwari. He is particularly popular among the Vokkaligas who are 70,000 in number in the constituency which has 2.5 lakh voters.

The high command is proposing that Siddaramaiah contest the Badami seat in Bagalkot which has a considerable number of Kuruba voters, the community that Siddaramaiah belongs to. Siddaramaiah who was in Delhi to attend the screening committee meeting cited the example of S M Krishna who had shifted from the Maddur constituency and contested from Chamrajapet in 2004. He said that Krishna had invited bad press and the Congress ended up losing power. The high command has now left the decision to Siddaramaiah.