MODI'S GUARANTEES REMAIN IN SPEECHES, MY GUARANTEES ARE FULFILLED

The transformation is unmissable. The old-school mass leader Siddaramaiah has suddenly switched into the new avatar of a master strategist.

- PRATHIMA NANDAKUMAR

SIDDARAMAIAH, KARNATAKA CHIEF MINISTER

It was unavoidable, as at stake is his chief minister’s seat. “If you want me to survive, you should give a clear lead to the Congress candidate in the Lok Sabha polls,” he pleads to the voters in Varuna, his assembly constituency. Amid rumours of him being replaced as chief minister after the Lok Sabha polls, only a good show on his home turf, Mysuru, will give him a slim chance for survival.

And helping him in the tough campaign are his son, Yathindra, who vacated his seat for his father in the last assembly polls, and a bunch of loyalists. Siddaramaiah and his crew are locked up in a room to avoid the stream of visitors to his house. He slumps into a king-size red leatherette chair in front of the television. A channel shows Union Minister Amit Shah addressing a rally in Bengaluru and accusing Siddaramaiah of playing ‘drought politics’.”

Even as the the chief minister’s media team prepares a counter, he seeks his son’s help to remove his shoes. Nursing his swollen feet, he suggests the shoe size could perhaps be wrong. Yathindra teases him saying he does not know his own shoe size as he never shops for himself.

But Siddaramaiah seems sure of improving his party’s tally in the state, winning at least 20 of the 28 seats. In an exclusive interview, he also shares his thoughts on a spectrum of issues—from the Karnataka model of development, the impact of the Congress’s five guarantees on the polls, the Centre's apathy towards the drought-hit state, and the waning Modi magic. Excerpts: