Badami (Karnataka), Apr 26 (PTI) Forty-year-old Kamanna Heggri, serving as Havildar in the Army, has taken one-month leave to come to his village near this historical town in northern Karnataka, best known for its famous cave temples. " " His "mission" now: To vote for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who is contesting from here in the May 12 assembly elections. " " "I have come to vote for Siddaramaiah. Is it not a matter of pride that a sitting CM is seeking election from our place," said Heggri.

"How can we let him down? His election will certainly lead to development of the area," he said. " " He claims dozens of his ilk in the Army hailing from this segment in Bagalakote district are now home-bound to extend support to Siddaramaiah, who is also contesting from Chamundeshwari in Mysore district. " " "But there are also some who see the Chief Minister"s decision to be in the fray from here an opportunistic move. " ""How many times did he (Siddaramaiah) visit Badami in the last five years? If he wins from here and Chamundeshwari, he will certainly give up his seat here," a resident, in his 50s, says.

Siddaramaiah's schemes like "Anna Bhagya" have made people lazy and ensured that they get benefits easily without having to do anything. Instead, he should have attempted to empower them, says the man who did not wish to be identified. " ""There hasn"t been any development in Badami, where there is tremendous tourism potential". " "The Chief Minister"s decision to contest the second seat from here has sparked an intense debate on why he chose to do so, and animated discussions around the move are common. " "The opposition BJP and JDS have alleged that the fear of losing in Chamundeshwari made him to contest from Badami, the regal capital of the erstwhile Chalukya dynasty (that ruled between the 6th and the 12th centuries).

The Congress has countered this while Siddaramaiah said people of this region pushed him to enter the fray from here also. " "A political analyst said the Congress is hoping that the CM"s candidature here would infuse energy into the party campaign in north Karnataka, which the BJP is counting as its stronghold, particularly the districts of Bagalakote, Vijayapura, Dharwad and Gadag, and result in pushing fence-sitting voters towards the party. " " "Former Minister and five-time Badami Congress MLA, B B Chimmanakatti, who is ailing, was reluctant to give up his seat initially but eventually fell in line. " " "The BJP has fielded Ballari Lok Sabha member and influential leader of the region, B Sriramulu, to take on the Chief Minister.

For Sriramulu too, Badami is the second constituency he is contesting apart from Molakalmuru in Chitradurga district. " " "The entry of Sriramulu, a close associate of mining baron B Janardhana Reddy, has turned the contest into a big-ticket battle. " "The Chief Minister contesting here and his face-off with Sriramulu, projected by some as future Deputy Chief Minister if BJP comes to power, is set to raise political temperature in Badami, which has now become a cynosure of all eyes. " " "JDS candidate Hanumantha Mavinamarada, who is a local, is also putting up a spirited challenge, and had been nursing the constituency. " "Both candidates (Siddaramaiah and Sriramulu) are from outside. I will win with a good margin. I have released my manifesto a year ago on what I will do for the segment.

"One person (Siddaramaiah) wants to win from here and go (later resign), and another person (Sriramulu) wants to defeat him. That"s their aim", Mavinamarada said. " " Badami in Bagalakote district of north Karnataka is considered a safer bet for Siddaramaiah by the Congress as it has a sizeable population of Kurubas, the community to which be belongs, and scheduled castes, scheduled tribes Muslims and other backward castes -- all part of AHINDA platform, the bulwark of Siddaramaiah's support base.

AHINDA is a Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes and Dalits.PTI RS RA

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)