Karnataka: Two veterans and one last battle

An atheist and a former rice mill clerk are fighting perhaps the last battle of their political life in Karnataka. Incumbent CM and Mysore strongman Siddaramaiah is a self-confessed atheist. He is on record slamming astrology and is credited with bringing an anti-superstition bill, that made many devout Hindus see red.

He started off his career as a social activist and then joined the Janata Dal (Secular) of former PM HD Deve Gowda. Somewhere along, he fell out with Deve Gowda and joined the Congress. Deve Gowda has not yet forgiven his one-time protégé Siddaramaiah for that. He is largely credited with the 2013 Congress victory and went on to become a CM.

As for Yeddiyurappa, he was a rice mill clerk, who used to be a regular at the RSS shakhas. He was a grassroots level worker all along. Somewhere along, he joined politics and began fighting a long battle. He remained with the BJP, even when his Guru AK Subbaiah left the BJP along with 16 MLAs. Only two MLAs remained with the BJP and Yeddiyurappa was one of them.

He never fell for the lure of entering Parliament and always fought for the Assembly. In 2014, however, he obayed the party command and fought as an MP. He became the chief minister, but was mired in bickering with his party colleagues and corruption cases. In 2013 elections, he formed a separate outfit and hit the prospects of the BJP badly. Now back in the BJP, he wants to have a go at the CM post for one last time.

Let’s see which of these veterans win the Karnataka battle and goes on to become the chief minister of one of the most happening states in the country!!