By M K Ashoka

Bengaluru, Apr 15 (IANS): It is going to be a litmus test for Karnataka Congress leader and chief ministerial aspirant Siddaramaiah with the BJP fielding strong Lingayat leader V. Somanna against him in the Varuna constituency.

After former chief minister Yediyurappa declined to field his son B.Y. Vijayendra from here, it was perceived that it was going to be a cakewalk for Siddaramaiah. But the BJP has shocked him with a surprise candidate.

V. Somanna, who rose to become one of the top leaders in the state from scratch, is known as a ground level worker with good organizational skills. According to sources in the BJP, Somanna has told the party that he would ensure its victory in four constituencies in Chamarajanagar district besides beating Siddaramaiah on his home turf Varuna.

Siddaramaiah is going to face a herculean task in the constituency as Lingayats constitute the largest voters group. The Lingayat community has been waiting for leadership for decades in the region. With the BJP pitting Somanna against Siddaramaiah, the Varuna constituency is ready for a clash of titans.

According to available statistics Varuna constituency has 2,23,007 voters. There are 53,000 Lingayat voters, 48,000 from Scheduled Castes and Tribes, 23,000 Nayakas, 27,000 Kurubas, 12,000 Vokkaligas and 35,000 other voters.

Siddaramaiah is known as a fearless leader who could take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the RSS head on and is also known for his welfare schemes for the oppressed classes and minorities. He has also successfully challenged the Vokkaliga and Lingayat hegemonies in the state and is eyeing the CM's post if the Congress is voted to power. He has stated that it is his last election and he wants to retire from politics after the next tenure.

The Varuna constituency came into existence in 2008 after the delimitation exercise. In 2008 and 2013 Siddaramaiah won the seat and in 2018 his son Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah won from here with a comfortable margin. This time, Yathindra has vacated his seat for his father who was in search of a safer constituency.

In 2008, BJP candidate L. Revanasiddaiah, a retired IPS officer, polled 53,071 votes and Siddaramaiah emerged triumphant with 71,908 votes. In 2013, Siddaramaiah polled 84,385 and Kapu Siddalingaswamy from the KJP (former CM Yediyurappa's party) got 54,744 votes. In 2018, Yathindra Siddaramaiah polled 96,435 votes and the BJP candidate, an ordinary worker T. Basavaraju got 37,819 votes.

Siddaramaiah reacting to Somanna contesting against him stated that he welcomed it. "I welcome anyone to contest against me. They (BJP) have roped in Somanna from Bengaluru. Even as he refuses, he is forced to contest from Varuna. The people of Varuna constituency will decide," he said.

Somanna has gambled his political career in the upcoming assembly elections by giving up his Govindaraj Nagar constituency in Bengaluru. He is contesting from the Chamarajanagar and Varuna seats this time. If he fails to make it from Varuna constituency, his gamble might backfire and put his career in jeopardy.

Somanna has stated that it is not about risk, it is about the trust that the party has reposed in him. He said that he is 72 years old now and he very well knew that after 75 years he has to make way for others. Siddaramaiah may be the former chief minister but in this election he is a candidate. Both of us come from the same party (Janata Dal).

He maintained that though he has to prepare in a short span of time, he has the experience of handling such challenges. The party has deep roots in the villages and there is a big team already existing at the booth level.

He said that the BJP will not suffer a setback in the constituency. Thousands of workers have pledged to bring the BJP to power. Unity is important and it will be ensured, he added.

Sources in the Congress and the BJP said that both the leaders are facing conspiracies within their own parties. Comgress state president D.K. Shivakumar, former deputy CM G. Parameshwara were relegated to the sidelines during the tenure of Siddaramaiah. It is an open secret in political circles of the state that Siddaramaiah scripted the defeat of senior Dalit leader Parameshwara to get him out of the CM's race. Shivakumar was not inducted into the cabinet for a long time and presently, Siddaramaiah is the direct competitor for the CM's post.

Somanna had objected to the interference of B.S. Yediyurappa. Somanna had fallen out with Yediyurappa after he was removed from the post of district in-charge of Mysuru. Though he had met Yediyurappa and there was a truce, fingers are crossed about the turn of events.