Battle royale between Siddu & scion of royal family for Mysore Lok Sabha seat
MYSURU: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah hasn’t entered the electoral contest here but the battle for Mysuru Lok Sabha seat is certainly seen as one between him and scion of the erstwhile royal family.
For four days from March 24, Siddaramaiah camped in Mysuru -- his home district -- personally overseeing the poll preparations of the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
Springing a surprise, the BJP fielded the scion of the erstwhile Mysuru royal family Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, replacing the MP Pratap Simha.
Congress Karnataka unit spokesperson M Lakshmana is the party candidate here with some leaders in the outfit projecting the electoral contest as ‘Common man versus Raja (king)’. Siddaramaiah held several rounds of meetings with the party office-bearers in various Assembly constituencies under the Mysore Lok Sabha segment and issued several instructions to them.
“The pressure on Siddaramaiah is quite palpable as he has to demonstrate his hold among masses in the upcoming Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka and more so in Mysuru,” a political analyst said.
Siddaramaiah represents Varuna in Mysuru district in the legislative assembly.
The ‘Battle of Mysore’ isn’t an easy one -- it’s a ‘battle royale’ where the stakes are high for the CM as well as the Mysuru royal family.
True to his majestic position, the well-mannered, US-educated Wadiyar has gone about campaigning in a dignified way earning respect from his ‘subjects’, as the ‘Mysuru Maharajaru’ or the Maharaja of Mysuru.
Lakshmana is from Vokkaliga (farming) community, which dominates the Mysuru region. After his candidature was announced, he said the Congress has given a befitting reply to the BJP by giving ticket to him because the opposition party in the State often alleged that Siddaramaiah was anti-Vokkaliga.
Lakshmana’s Vokkaliga card was aimed at subtly sending across a message to his community that the BJP denied ticket to Pratap Simha, a Vokkaliga, and preferred Wadiyar from erstwhile royal family.