Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday announced that he would contest the 2018 Assembly elections from Chamundeshwari constituency in Mysuru, and that the candidate for Varuna Assembly constituency, which he currently holds, will be announced shortly.
Siddaramaiah, who was in Mysuru to chair a divisional level officers' meeting told reporters that it was too early to tell if his son Dr Yathindra would contest from Varuna. “It is too early to say who among the two of us will contest from Varuna. I might consider contesting from both seats,” said Siddaramaiah.
Earlier too, the CM had announced his plan to contest from Chamundeshwari constituency in Mysore and expressed his desire to field his elder son Rakesh from Varuna constituency in the 2018 assembly elections. But following the demise of Rakesh, Siddaramaiah's second son Dr Yathindra is chairing party meetings and attending programmes in Varuna.
The Kuruba strongman who entered the Karnataka Legislative Assembly for the first time in 1983 from the Chamundeshwari constituency, shifted to Varuna constituency in 2008 after quitting Janata Dal (Secular). He won the seat on a Congress ticket.
In 2013, Siddaramaiah again won the Varuna seat by wresting 84,385 votes (52.53%), with a winning margin of 29,641 votes. With BJP split into three factions, Kapu Siddalingaswamy of Karnataka Janata Party (KJP), led by former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa came second with 54,744 votes (34.08%).
His winning the Varuna seat a second time in 2013 elevated him to the top post.
Last year, during a public event, Siddramaiah had expressed his gratitude to voters of Chamundeshwari constituency recalling how they had given him a political rebirth by electing him in 2004 (after his defeat in the 1999 Assembly polls). His victory earned him the deputy chief minister's post for the second time (after 1996) in the Dharam Singh led Congress-JD(S) coalition government.
Varuna is considered a safe seat for Siddaramaiah as it has a large chunk of SC, OBC, minorities and Kuruba votes. On the contrary, Chamundeshwari constituency is dominated by Vokkaliga, Lingayat and Nayak communities who together account for almost 75% of voters. Siddaramaiah had always won the seat with support from Vokkaligas (on a JD(S) ticket). Currently, the Chamundeshwari Assembly constituency is held by JD(S) MLA G.T. Devegowda.