Karnataka’s K Siddaramaiah seems to be glugging a daily pint of Red Bull these days. After four years of relative somnolence, the CM suddenly leapt to his feet in the last year before elections, in an attempt to break Karnataka’s anti-incumbency jinx. Since Ramakrishna Hegde in 1985, no ruling party has been re-elected in Karnataka, but Siddaramaiah is hoping to pull off a Devaraj Urs 2.0. Urs was the original Congress satrap who won consecutively in 1972 and 1978 on the strength of a backward caste coalition.
Siddaramaiah is playing the caste card by promising minority status to Lingayats. He has inaugurated pro-poor schemes and even unveiled a Karnataka state flag of ‘Kannada pride’. His latest pronouncement is to liken himself Read More
