Karnataka Assembly elections 2018: Siddaramaiah's son Yathindra likely to take on Yeddyurappa's son Vijayendra

The Karnataka Assembly election is witnessing a fierce battle between the ruling Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The stage is set for an even more interesting battle in Varuna Assembly constituency, which is expected Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s son Dr Yathindra take on former CM and BJP leader's BS Yeddyurappa’s son BY Vijayendra.

While the Congress has declared that Yathindra will contest from the constituency, the BJP is yet to confirm the candidature of Vijayendra for the Assembly seat.

Siddaramaiah’s son Yathindra is a practicing doctor and was not a part of active politics till the last Karnataka elections in 2013.  When asked about Yeddyurappa’s son Vijayendra being pitted against him from Varuna constituency, he said that that his only message to the BJP leader would be “all the best because ultimately people choose the winner in a democracy”.

Vijayendra is likely to begin a tour of the Varuna constituency in Mysuru this week itself. It will be a political debut for him if the BJP names him as one of the candidates in the Karnataka Assembly elections.

In an exclusive interview with Zee News, he said that he decided to enter active politics after the demise of his elder brother in 2016.

“I was away from active politics for long. I always had interest in politics but never wanted to join active politics. But when I lost my brother, I decided to join it,” he said.

Talking about his prospects in the upcoming Assembly elections, he said that though electoral politics is new for him, he had built rapport with people by regularly interacting with them and listening to the issues they are facing.

When asked if he will bring about some change in how politics is done, Yathindra said, “I don’t know if I can change how politics is done, but I believe that if you are interested in working for people, that is enough for politics.”

He also dismissed any comparison with his father saying Siddaramaiah was a seasoned politician and has been active in politics for 30 years. “I don’t know if I will ever reach that position, but will keep serving people of my constituency,” he added.

Yathindra dismissed any political motive behind Siddaramaiah government giving separate religion status to members of Lingayat community, saying the demand had been long pending and the Chief Minister had also maintained the same stand on it.

Reacting to a recent attack by BJP president Amit Shah on the state government allegedly dividing people on religious lines, the Congress leader said that parties would keep blaming each other for something or the other. “But when you look at the programmes of our government, they cater to all sections of the society,” he added.