The Kurubas, the third biggest community in Karnataka, want their posterboy, Siddaramaiah to become chief minister of the state. A group of Kuruba leaders are planning to launch a campaign across the state in May to create a soft corner among voters for Mr Siddaramaiah.
With the objective of showcasing the popularity of Siddaramaiah, Karnataka Pradesh Kurubara Sangha (KPKS) will organise the rally in Davangere on May 6. Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, a highly placed source in KPKS said that the main reason behind organising the mammoth rally was to anoint Mr Siddaramaiah as the champion of the backward classes and farmers instead of his present image of being a Kuruba strongman
The community is demanding that the Congress make him CM, if the party comes to power. The Kuruba strategy assumes significance in the wake of the Congress denying any major role to Mr Siddaramaiah. Last week the former deputy CM had reportedly asked for a bigger responsibility in the party. Unconfirmed reports suggested that he demanded he be projected as CM candidate in the next assembly election which was apparently rejected by the Congress high command. Perhaps, after this development, the Kuruba strongman wants to prove his popularity so that the Congress high command cannot ignore him.
"On the pretext of organising a rally, a section of functionaries will carry out a subtle campaign in favour of Mr Siddaramaiah within the community across the state, which would soon percolate down," the source explained. The source added that these functionaries will use Mr Siddaramaiah's tour in drought-hit regions to his advantage by branding him as a farmer leader. "It is pertinent to note that Mr Siddaramaiah was welcomed by none other than Mrs Sonia Gandhi in 2007 as she found him to be a farmer leader with a lot of appeal. So, it’s now time to rebrand him as a farmer leader and a champion of the backward classes instead of restricting him to the Kuruba community," sources explained.
According to former Congress minister and senior functionary of KPKS, H.M. Revanna, the forum aims to bring nearly five lakh Kurubas on May 6 to Davangere to discuss the problems faced by the community in the last several decades. "This is an apolitical programme and has nothing to do with politics. In the present circumstances, the Backward Classes are more worried about their dwindling representation in the state Legislature. So, we want to discuss such issues more than anything else," he shot back, when asked whether the rally was intended to project Mr Siddaramaiah as the next chief minister.