‘Come maa, Saheb is taking oath’: Empty streets in Siddaramaiah’s village as residents watch event live and on TV

Siddaramanahundi, a village with about 3,000 population, is located 30 km away from Mysuru city. Siddaramaiah, who rose to the position of chief minister for the second time, was born and brought up here.

Before starting formal education, he was sent to take care of cattle and then to learn ‘Veera Kunitha’, a folk dance form. On the insistence of Rajappa, a schoolteacher, he was directly admitted to Class 5. No one in his family knows Siddaramaiah’s real date of birth but he continues to celebrate it on the date Rajappa wrote in the school ledger. From there he went on to earn BSc and LLB degrees before joining politics.

Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi S, who was in the village last week, left for Bengaluru four days ago but did not participate in the swearing-in ceremony. A member of the Chief Minister’s family said, “We insisted that she (Parvathi) attend the event but she refused. We cannot force her.”

Siddaramaiah’s residence was locked and his younger brother, 73-year-old Siddegowda, was in Bengaluru to attend his oath-taking ceremony. Before leaving for the function, Siddegowda, an agriculturist by profession, told The Indian Express that he was attending such an event for the first time.

“I had not visited (Bengaluru) when he became the Chief Minister the first time (in 2013). I did not have any interest (in politics). But this time, Yathindra (Siddaramaiah’s son) forced me, so I am attending the event,” he said. Of the six siblings, only Siddaramaiah and Siddegowda are alive.

Siddegowda said he is not active in agriculture now because of health reasons. Asked if Siddaramaiah visits the village often, he said, “he rarely comes”. “Whenever he (Siddaramaiah) visits Mysuru, he stays in his other house there. He makes it a point to attend the Siddarameshwara temple fair (a local deity) and last time he also performed Veera Kunitha with his friends there.”

Siddegowda, who quit school when he was in Class 2, said, “His (Siddaramaiah) teacher Rajappa took him to school. He was studying well. I was not interested and quit schooling.”

Youngsters from the village took charge of arranging cars and cabs for travelling to Bengaluru on Saturday. A mini bus was also arranged by the supporters of Siddaramaiah, which left for the capital around 5 am. Many of the shops in the village remained closed in absence of usual business. Against anticipation, there was no media crew in the village wanting to speak to the residents.

Lingaraju, a villager, said, “This is the first time that such a large number of villagers are attending Siddaramaiah’s swearing-in ceremony… Maybe because there was a transportation arrangement they went or else people here just go to their work.”

M Shwetha, a resident watching the event on television, called her mother-in-law K Y Rathnamma, “Baravva, baa Sahebru thogothavre (come mother, Saheb is taking oath).”

Rathnamma was proud to see her fellow villager taking charge as chief minister for the second time. “It is being said that the CM post will be given to D K Shivakumar for 2.5 years,” she asked. Her elderly mother-in-law, already seated in front of the television, responded: “Let him (Shivakumar) get a chance, he has also worked hard for the win.”

V Chikka Eeregowda, a childhood friend of the Chief Minister, said he has never attended the swearing-in functions of Siddaramaiah. But he makes sure to catch a glimpse of the ceremony on television.

Eeregowda, who was returning from a funeral, said: “This time I could not find a TV set but watched the event on my mobile phone.”

His cousin Kempeeraiah C, who is also a childhood friend of Siddaramaiah and a local politician, was in Bengaluru attending the programme.

Talking about his friendship with Siddaramaiah, Eeregowda said: “We have similar ideologies and we are followers of socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia. We practised as lawyers for some time but later chose different paths. I never asked him for any favours and neither did he until 2006, when he contested for Chamundeshwari by-election. That was the only time he requested me to help him in the campaigning and I did it for him. He won the election. Whenever I have asked him to establish a school or college in Siddaramanahundi, he has done it swiftly. We are happy about it.”

Asked about the five guarantees of the Congress government, Eeregowda said: “Free bus rides for women and Rs 2,000 a month to them is acceptable but why should unemployed youth be paid a monthly allowance (Rs 1,500-3,000). They don’t need money, they need jobs. The government needs to focus on creating jobs. It should focus more on free healthcare and free education for all. Despite some shortcomings, Siddaramaiah has worked well whenever he has been in power.”

Asked if the new generation in the village follows Siddaramaiah, he said the mindset has changed. “This generation looks at whether they have personally benefited from a leader rather than society in general. It is unfortunate. You know, in these elections, political parties pay money to the public to attend events. During our days, we voluntarily attended functions but now political and social awareness is lacking among the younger generation.”