Siddaramaiah, the former Chief Minister and Congress leader, has won the Varuna constituency with a comfortable margin of over 26,000 votes. BJP candidate V Somanna trailed behind with 42,928 votes. Siddaramaiah secured 60.05% of the total votes, as per the Election Commission of India. Varuna has 2.34 lakh voters and an 84.74% voting percentage. Siddaramaiah won from the constituency in 2008 and 2013, and his son Yathindra won in 2018.
The BJP fielded V Somanna, a senior leader of the party from the Lingayat community. With both leaders holding high-decibel campaigns, Siddaramaiah’s win was expected to be tough. The constituency has a majority of Lingayat votes and is dominated by Lingayats, Schedule Caste groups, and Kurubas. Siddaramaiah has built his support on the AHINDA movement.
In the run-up to the elections, Siddaramaiah was embroiled in controversies. As the BJP’s alleged sidelining of Lingayats became an election issue, Siddaramaiah was slammed for his statement about the community. The BJP alleged that he had insulted the entire Lingayat community. Siddaramaiah has issued a clarification saying that his comment was directed only towards CM Bommai and not the entire community. But the general feeling about him being anti-Lingayat seems to have prevailed.
Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president DK Shivakumar also presented a unified front. A letter purportedly written by Siddaramaiah to former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, complaining about Shivakumar, started doing the rounds. Both the leaders declared the letter as fake. Siddaramaiah also managed to spend considerable time in Varuna, holding road shows, rallies, and meetings. Actors Shiva Rajkumar and Ramya also campaigned for him.
Siddaramaiah’s victory in Varuna is seen as a boost for the Congress in the state. “This is the victory of the people of Varuna who have reposed faith in me,” said Siddaramaiah. “I will work for their welfare and development of the constituency.”
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