Take me home, country roads

8.a.m.: As party workers and curious onlookers start milling around Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s residence off Chaduranga Road in Sharada Devi Nagar. The police barricade both ends of the street and the riled neighbours are in a self-imposed lockdown. A few self-proclaimed leaders drive in their white SUVs. Some of them manage to wriggle past the security cover, but the rest are stopped by a tough-looking police officer.

9.30 a.m: The normally calm neigbourhood turns into a raucous locale as the police try to soothe the frayed nerves of party workers denied access to the Chief Minister. “Those who celebrated Siddaramaiah’s 1989 electoral defeat by bursting crackers are inside, while loyalists like me are stranded outside,’’ quipped a local leader from the adjoining Lingambudhiplaya village.

After a series of meetings to placate those denied ticket, it is time to hit the dusty and serpentine roads leading to villages in the constituency. The Chief Minister is behind schedule by nearly two hours.

11.45 a.m: The wireless sets of the police crackle, sending the security personnel into a tizzy, and the CM’s convoy heads towards Bannur Road and hits Melahalli. The narrow lane in the village does not permit free movement of large vehicles. So a customised goods carrier fitted with loudspeakers comes in handy and winds through the asphalted path between tiled houses. The Chief Minister stops under the shade of a tree to address the gathering. His speeches are short. “I have come to seek wages for the development works done and want your blessings,” he says.

1 p.m.: The crowd at Harohalli, part of the Varuna constituency which he has vacated to pave the way for his son Yathindra’s political debut, welcomes him with an aarti, while folk artistes break into a dance. After exchanging pleasantries with village elders, he repeats his speech of the previous village, and the convoy moves on. Three hours behind schedule and the next stop is Hallikerehundi, followed by Shivapura and Hunagana- halli.

4.15 p.m: At Madegowdanahundi, a crane helps hoist a garland of apples, weighing nearly 500 kg, to welcome the Chief Minister who gives a long speech given the size of the crowd and the number of voters. “Beware of outsiders who cannot empathise with your problems and vote for Yathindra,” he says. It is already 4.30 p.m. and a quick bite at the local leader's house (his favourite country chicken, we are told) and the convoy heads towards Pattehundi, Rangasamudra, Hittuvalli, Kupya, Tumbala in a race against time to cover nearly 14 villages by nightfall.

8.30 p.m.: It is night but no time to rest as there are disgruntled elements of the party waiting for the CM at his house. For the distraught neighbours, there is no reprieve in sight.