Bengaluru/Mysuru: In search of a new and a winnable home turf for the Karnataka Assembly elections, former Chief Minister Siddharamaiah has found support in Kolar. And this morning, he left for Kolar to analyse the electoral mood in a swanky bus that has been specially designed for him.
Party sources said that the caravan has been specially designed for the former CM and the Leader of Opposition to reach the length and breadth of the Constituency he is contesting and also in the other parts of the State where he has a strong support base.
The bus has comfortable chairs that can be stretched and rotated, plus the bus is equipped with a good audio-visual connection with an on-the-go Wi-Fi connection. The Isuzu model bus is fully air-conditioned and today several leaders accompanied Siddharamaiah on the trial run from Bengaluru to Kolar.
Bearing registration number KA-51-AH-0565, the grey- coloured bus has space for office work, facilities to conduct group meetings, a bed to sleep and also restroom facilities. Sources said that the Congress is preparing for a State-wide bus yatra to woo voters and both Siddharamaiah and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President D.K. Shivakumar are getting exclusive buses made for their comfortable travel.
The bus yatra by the two leaders will be similar to the 1999 ‘Panchajanya Yatra’ where the then KPCC President S.M. Krishna travelled in buses and the yatra had led to the party to be in power with the majority vote.
Meanwhile, Siddharamaiah is yet to finalise his constituency to contest the 2023 elections. He had sacrificed the Varuna seat for his son during the 2018 polls and contested from Chamundeshwari. However, the veteran politician lost the election. The saving grace was, however, his victory in Badami where he won with a close margin.
Several Congress leaders in Kolar are of the opinion that Kolar is the best suited place for the former CM to contest and have extended support. Siddharamaiah’s loyalist and former Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar, MLA K. Srinivasa Gowda, Nanje Gowda, S.N. Narayanaswamy and former MLA Sudhakar have extended their support for Siddharamaiah, sources said.
Even Siddharamaiah had hired two private agencies to conduct the survey in Kolar and both of them said that Siddharamaiah’s chances of winning from Kolar seat are 56 percent and 60 percent.
Today, before boarding the bus, Siddharamaiah told media persons “The party workers from Badami, Varuna and Kolar are exerting pressure for me to contest from those segments. I have not taken a decision in this regard and the final decision will be taken in consultation with the High Command.”
This post was published on November 13, 2022 6:44 pm