Kuruba rally, Siddu’s CM plank

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Ahead of Sunday’s Kuruba rally in Davanagere, the ripples in the Congress could well turn into a wave as supporters of Opposition leader in the Legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah step up a campaign in his bastion, Varuna, to project him as their choice for chief minister’s post in a possible Congress government.

Their move, however, could upset the Congress leadership as well as strengthen the BJP’s resolve to cut the earth from under the Kuruba leader’s feet. Former chief minister, B.S. Yeddyurappa’s personal secretary Siddalinga Swamy has been working overtime in Varuna for the last two years to connect with voters, indicating that he would pitch for a BJP ticket against Mr Siddaramaiah.

Worried over the political impact of Mr Swamy’s campaign, Mr Siddaramaiah’s supporters have started the campaign, more than a year before Assembly elections, sources explained. The Congress party, uneasy over the development, is said to be not fully on board. In an interview to Deccan Chronicle, KPCC president, Dr G. Parameshwar said that the party central leadership would take a call on this issue, and that the party is unlikely to move away from the established convention of going to elections under collective leadership.

Kurubas close ranks behind Siddu
Supporters of Opposition leader in the state Assembly, Siddaramaiah have decided to encash on the anti-incumbency wave against the ruling BJP which will work in favour of the Congress while projecting him as the chief ministerial candidate when the next polls are due.

“There is definitely an anti-incumbency wave against the ruling BJP. So, we feel that the Congress stands a bright chance of winning the 2013 assembly elections. Therefore, we (supporters of Siddaramaiah) wanted to create a ‘wave’ by portraying Mr Siddaramaiah as the future Chief Minister of the state," sources explained.

The Siddaramaiah camp is banking on three presumptions while projecting him as the chief ministerial candidate. One, the party central leadership may not like to send any of the central ministers from the state to become chief minister if the party comes to power. In these circumstances, Mr Siddaramaiah’s prospects would become brighter, his supporters said.

They also claimed that the rank and file of the party has already accepted Mr Siddaramaiah as the chief ministerial candidate. “Therefore, it has become all the more important for us to strengthen this campaign across the state in the days to come. We have already started working on this and are using the forthcoming Kuruba convention as a platform for this. However, we will not deliberately portray him as the CM's candidate as Kuruba leaders of all parties would be present at the convention on Sunday (May 6). We will ensure that all leaders attending the convention send a strong message that someone from the Kuruba community should become the Chief Minister of Karnataka this time. This itself will swing the campaign in favour of Mr Siddaramaiah, the foremost leader of Kurubas, in the days to come," the source explained.