The atheist CM who could use divine help

With a reputation of being reckless and undemocratic, Siddaramaiah is fighting resistance within the party besides anti-incumbency

BENGALURU: Siddaramaiah’s 35-year political career has always been edgy; he has repeatedly snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and failed when least expected to.

When he quit the Janata Dal (Secular) and joined the Congress in July 2006, the move was seen as an act of desperation by a politician struggling to remain relevant. But Siddaramaiah surprised many by leading the Congress to its best performance in a decade in the 2013 assembly elections. The icing on the cake was when party vice president Rahul Gandhi backed him to the chief minister’s chair.

Siddaramaiah, one would have imagined, was set for five years.

However, less than a year at the peak of his political career, the leader of backward classes finds himself on the edge of a ledge.

He is already battling antiincumbency and both the BJP and the JDS are calling these elections a referendum against his government.

Many of his senior most party colleagues have gangedup against him and are fuelling rumours that he will be sacked if he fails to send 15 MPs to Delhi.

He now faces a queer situation: He hopes to bag 20 seats and silence his critics within in the party but he needs their help to get to that magic figure.

His growth in the Congress despite being an ‘outsider’ has undoubtedly been the source of much resentment in the veterans’ camp. But the chief minister appears to have done little to build consensus within the party.

Instead, he has ear ned a reputation for being reckless and undemocratic.

His cabinet collea gues complain that he rarely consults them on key issues. As a result, he has been unable to push key legislations through after announcing them publicly (see graphic). His detractors have started referring to him as “Rollback Raja”.

A day after he assumed office, he announced that the government would take over the controversial Krishna temple in Udupi where subtle forms of untouchability still exist, provide 30 kg of rice at ` 1 per kilo and produce cheap liquor for poor people.

The party wanted Sonia Gandhi to announce these schemes. “I learnt about the announcement from TV channels,” confessed one minister. Another said, “He is not the only atheist or socialist in the party. I too have similar views. But he rarely takes me or anybody else into confidence.”

Siddaramaiah’s core constituency of Left-oriented writers, activists and lawyers too are unhappy with him for failing to pursue a strictly socialist agenda.

At this point, it seems t he only t hing protecting Siddaramaiah is his appeal among oppressed communities and his non-corrupt image.