Bengaluru: All systems go for D-day on May 20 when for the first time in 30 years a fully loaded government will take the oath. And Siddaramiah will be the third Chief Minister of the state after Nijalingappa and Devaraj Urs to become Chief Minister for the second time in the same party.
But what is more intriguing in this whole episode is that Siddaramiah might convert his swearing-in ceremony into a multi-state and national level event, perhaps with an eye at the PM’s post in 2024. Yes, his plans are as insidious as his thoughts.
His swearing-in ceremony will be attended by Chief Ministers of five states- Rajasthan (Ashok Gehlot) West Bengal ( Mamata Banerjee) Tamil Nadu (M. K. Stalin) Telangana (K. C. Chandrashekar Rao) and Chattisgarh (Bhupesh Bagel) out of which only Ashok Gehlot is the Chief minister from Congress-ruled state. Rest all belong to ‘friendly parties’ in the possible ‘Mahaghatbandhan’ ahead of the 2024 General elections.
Nobody in any party should be surprised if Siddaramiah will launch his campaign for the 2024 General elections for the party. Things are yet very volatile for the Congress party to promote him as the PM’s face. It might sound silly now by the political pundits in the state have gone back to their drawing boards to find out if this could be a scenario.
The BJP’s loss in the May elections will further deepen if Siddaramiah succeeds in his plans to convert the event on May 20 to make it a 30 years mega show of strength, coming from the state that had been depicted as the first state in the south to embrace BJP.