Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018: The importance of being Sriramulu

The Karnataka Assembly polls have been framed in various binaries — the BJP Vs Congress, State voting patterns vs Lok Sabha polls, whether it is a duel between Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Prime Minister Modi or the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate, B.S. Yeddyurappa and so on.

The surprise package in these polls, however, has been the emergence of B. Sriramulu, Lok Sabha member from Ballari, now fielded from two Assembly constituencies — Molakalmuru (in Chitradurga) and Badami, where he will take on Mr. Siddaramaiah.

Rise and rise

There are several reasons for the rise of the hitherto obscure Mr. Sriramulu — seen more as an appendage to the notorious Reddy brothers of Ballari — not least the fact that he belongs to the Valmiki Nayaka community, one of the largest tribal communities in the State.

“Sriramulu is a young popular leader and belongs to the tribal community, that’s the only reason why he has been projected in a big way,” said Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar, BJP election in charge for Karnataka.

Sources in the party said that in every public meeting that Mr. Sriramulu has addressed, he is the only State leader, apart from Mr. Yeddyurappa, to get any traction.

“The projection is to also give a message to tribal communities in the State and beyond that while other parties pay lip service to representation, we are the party that has given prominence to the community in a real way,” said a source.

The move is also aimed at advance planning for 2019, sources said, in what could be a refashioning of the party’s caste base — to broaden and subalternise it beyond the current dependence on the en bloc Lingayat vote.

“The top two (Prime Minister Modi and party president Amit Shah) are known for long-term planning. If the light switch is in one corner, the bulb is in another, when the connection happens, the bulb lights up,” was a rather cryptic comment from one source.

Star campaigner

The candidate himself said he had been “picked” for the role rather surprisingly. “But we will win comfortably. I have been asked to campaign in almost 80 seats,” he told The Hindu.

Asked about his connections to the Reddy brothers, he said they were his “friends” but that he had “no political or business connection with them”.

BJP president Amit Shah has also tried to avoid sharing the stage with the Reddy brothers, cancelling an appearance in Ballari recently.

Is Mr. Sriramulu’s high-profile projection also a way of de-hyphenating him from the Reddys? “He is not one of the Reddys,” said a BJP leader, and there the matter lies.