BJP fields Sriramulu in Badami to take on CM Siddaramaiah

BADAMI: BJP has fielded parliamentarian Sriramulu, close aide of disgraced mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy, to take on Chief Minister Siddarmaiah in his second seat Badami.

Sriramulu, who is also contesting from the reserved constituency of Molkalmuru, filed his papers unannounced on Tuesday saying he was just following orders of the party leadership.

The move showed the intention of BJP to defeat Siddaramaiah in Badami, or at least tie him down there in a close contest. Siddaramaiah already faces a tough challenge in his other constituency , Chamundeshwari in south Karnataka .


Congress considers Badami a safe seat for Siddaramaiah because of the substantial population of his Kuruba community, apart from scheduled castes, scheduled tribes Muslims and other backward castes - all part of the AHINDA platform the CM has brought together.

Earlier in the day, Siddaramaiah was taken in a huge procession when he arrived to file his papers in Badami. “I am not worried who the opponent is. I have come to contest from here because the locals came and asked me to. I am responding to the affection that people from here have showered on me.” he said.

The hitch for Siddaramaiah would be a projected consolidation Lingayats and scheduled tribes, the two communities to which Sriramulu and BJP's chiefministerial face Yeddyturappa belong. There is no independent confirmation on whether Lingayats or Kurubas are the dominant community here.

BJP is also banking on Sriramulu’s image as a do-gooder who does not limit himself to his own community. “We have seen the kind of work he has done in our neighbouring district of Gadag. He has paid electricity, water bills for the poor, conducted so many mass-marriages at his expense," said Anil Hangin, a voter in Badami town.

But, like Siddaramaiah, he too will be seen as an "outsider". Sangayya Hiremath, a voter in BJP-Lingayat stronghold of Guledagudd, said. “We are thinking of voting for the JD(S) candidate Hanumanath Mavinmarad, who is a local."

People are worried that should either Siddaramaiah or Sriramulu win, they will give up Badami for their main seats and thus trigger a bypoll. But they are also happy that the presence of two high-profile candidates will highlight the problems faced by the constituency.