As Siddaramaiah Faces Tough BJP Challenge, His Village Says "Once More"

Mysuru, Karnataka: Tucked away in Mysuru district in the constituency of Varuna, is the little village of Siddaramanahundi.  It has a sizeable proportion of Kurubas - and one among them is the chief minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah.

NDTV travelled to the village to get a sense of the mood there. We met, Siddegowda, who bears a strong resemblance to his much better-known elder brother - Siddaramaiah.

The two brothers are part of a family of six siblings. Siddegowda's path was different from his brother who went on to study law and enter politics. He stayed in this little village in Mysuru district.
 On his brother Siddaramaiah, who is running for the second term as Karnataka chief minister, his brother said, "When we were children, none of us expected him to go this far...but now he has achieved so much."

At this small village, people are proud of Siddaramaiah who made it big in politics.

"He was always very smart and brilliant. His grandmother wanted him to join politics. We also wanted him to do that because he was the first rank student from our village," Mr Siddaramaiah's childhood friend Karigowda told NDTV.

Sitting on a platform outside Siddegowda's house, Mensegowda a schoolmate of the Chief Minister, told NDTV, "Siddaramaiah jumped classes in school because he already knew all that was being taught. When we were young, I never expected Siddaramaiah to reach such great heights. He is the first person from the Kuruba community to attain so much success. He was very good in studies and had a good handwriting as well."
 The villagers are clear where their loyalties lie.

Rajamal, a woman who lives in the village said, "I will vote for Siddaramaiah. He is the one who has fed us all. He also gave my son a job."

But there are downsides to your brother being the chief minister

Siddegowda said, "He is really busy so how can he come here often? But he gives all the homes rice as part of the Anna Bhagya scheme... There is no doubt that Congress is going to win this time."

Siddaramanahundi, the home village of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, hopes that one of their own becomes the Chief Minister of the state, again.

Karnataka, where the BJP is fighting tooth and nail to wrest power from the Congress, votes tomorrow to form a new government. Opinion polls have predicted a hung verdict in the state.