Karnataka elections 2018: ‘I am not familiar with the Varuna constituency as much as my father is’, says CM Siddaramaiah’s younger son Yathindra

I know most of the leaders and some voters in the constituency, but I do not know the region like my father does. He knows the people in most of the houses. I am not familiar with them as much as my father is. But I am trying to learn.

One thing that comes up in conversations with people in this constituency is the memory of your brother, who looked after the region for 12 years before his untimely death in 2016. Does this constant comparison with your father and brother bother you?

I am aware that people liked Rakesh (older brother), and he received a lot of love from the people. I think he is more popular than me. In many villages, they refer to me as Rakesh instead of Yathindra. He was in the constituency for almost 12 years, and so he had a much more intimate relationship with the people. I know I cannot be like him because we are two different personalities. I am doing my own thing.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in your neighbourhood earlier he accused Siddaramaiah and the Congress of practising dynastic politics at the cost of party workers by inducting you in active politics through these elections. What is your view?

You cannot say that the children of politicians should not join politics. They may also have political ambitions, and so you cannot prevent them from contesting elections. It will be an injustice. Dynastic politics is dangerous or bad when you promote your son’s career at the cost of others. I have taken over a role that was being played by my older brother. He took care of the constituency for 12 years, and if he was around he would have contested the elections from this constituency. I have worked here for the last 18 months and the people have accepted me. The local leaders have accepted me and there is no other potential candidate so it is not dynastic politics. Just because you are the son of a politician or the Chief Minister, you will not get elected. Unless people like you and know you, and understand that you can get their work done, they will not elect you. They (BJP) should also look at their own party and see how many children of their leaders have got tickets in different states during elections.

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BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa’s son Vijayendra was supposed to be your rival in Varuna, but he was withdrawn at the last moment. People say that you would have struggled in the polls if he had remained in the fray. How do you see the contest in this constituency?

We have always believed that the Congress will win in the Varuna constituency because of the good governance in the last five years. We have implemented so many social welfare programmes. People are happy with that. A lot of work has been done in Varuna. I have been working here for 18 months and have developed a relationship with the people. They know that they can come to my house and demand that their problems be solved. So based on these factors we were confident that the Congress will win. We are not bothered about who our opponents are. However, since Vijayendra is a well-known person, the son of a former chief minister, the margin of our victory would have been less if he was contesting.

What are the foremost issues that have been addressed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Varuna constituency, and what issues need to be addressed by you?

We have provided most of the basic facilities in Varuna.  All the roads have been done, and only 10% of the work is left as far as roads and drainage systems are concerned. As far as drinking water is concerned, we have started nearly seven multi-village schemes, which will be completed in a few months. This was among the major problems. We have tried to resolve the electricity supply problems. Four sub-stations have been set up.

The other big problem in Varuna is unemployment. There are factories and industries, and people expect locals to be employed. But this is not happening. We have not tackled that problem. Irrigation is a problem in the summer months. In drought years, we had asked farmers not to sow paddy. But they did sow the crop. So there is a water problem, and my father will have to do something about it.

Now that you are in Varuna, and the Chief Minister is travelling around the state, who is looking after the neighbouring Chamundeshwari constituency, where your father is contesting from? There are speculations that Siddaramaiah could lose the seat. I am reviewing the campaign work in Chamundeshwari on a daily basis. Once I am done here, I will tour Chamundeshwari as well. Local leaders there are doing their best.