Bengaluru (Karnataka) : Prominent Lingayat community leader and BJP leader V Somanna is trailing in both the constituencies he contested in the Karnataka Assembly Elections. Somanna is pitted against the ex-chief minister and Congress candidate Siddaramaiah in the Varuna assembly constituency. Here, Somanna is trailing behind Siddaramaiah, who has a lead of 27,000 votes over Somanna.
Somanna is also lagging behind in his second constituency - Chamarajangar. Here, Congress nominee C Puttarangashetty is enjoying a lead over the BJP candidate in the trends since morning. Mallikarjuna Swamy is conteting on the JD (Secular) ticket here. Somanna, who is the minister for housing and infrastructure development, is of the BJP's two stalwarts who sprang surprises in the Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023 by contesting from two constituencies.
This is part of the BJP strategy to put strong candidates against Siddaramaiah in Varuna and DK Shivakumar in Kanakapura. V. Somanna was a native of Kanakapura taluk. He was a member of the Bangalore Metropolitan Corporation (BMC) from 1983 to 1987 and became the Binnypet MLA in 1994 by contesting on a Janata Dal ticket.
Somanna left Janata Dal in 1999 and won as an independent candidate from Binnypet. Somanna joined Congress in 2004. He was elected from Govindarajanagara constituency in 2008. In 2018, he won on a BJP ticket and is currently a Minister in the Bommai Cabinet.
The BJP leaders gave Somanna the task of taking on Congress stalwart Siddaramaiah in Varuna. Siddaramaiah has a long political career beginning in 1978 as a member of the Taluk Development Board. In 2004, he became deputy Chief Minister in the Congress and JDS government.
