The Nanjangud and Gundlupet by-election has been a good preliminary exam for Karnataka politicians. While it gave Congress party, which is suffocating under bad leadership, a gasp of air, the BJP choked…and if it does not change strategy it will drown in 2018. But the most dramatic part of the election was that V. Sreenivasa Prasad, who initiated Siddharamaiah into politics was uninitiated from electoral politics by the same Siddharamaiah! Yes, Sreenivasa Prasad, a man who roared in Nanjangud for three decades, had to purr away from electoral politics. On the other hand, Siddharamaiah, who on numerous occasions said that he would retire from electoral politics has now, rejuvenated by victory, announced that he will continue in electoral politics. This also signals the birth of another political family because Siddharamaiah’s son, MBBS doctor, Dr. Yathindra, has stepped into politics with his involvement in the recent by-elections. Sreenivasa Prasad didn’t want to leave electoral politics but now is forced to leave, while a CM who wanted to leave electoral politics is now enthused to carry on! This reminds me of a line from the Bible, “The race in not to the swift nor battle to the strong, but time and chance happenth to all.” And as everyone who has followed Karnataka politics knows, when it comes to time and chance ‘adrushta’ no one stands a chance against Siddharamaiah. When it comes to politics, Siddharamaiah is a lucky man. A man who became Dy.CM after being an MLA for just 7 years and then CM by being in another party for just 7 years, while people who have been in a party for over two decades have been deprived of that gaddi. Hopefully after this victory, in which D.K. Shivakumar had a significant part to play, Siddharamaiah will make him at least KPCC President, if not a CM candidate.
