The CM has been in Mysuru for four to five days last week. He  returned to Bengaluru only on Thursday to hold the conciliatory meeting with the miffed Kolar district legislators. Siddaramaiah heads back to Mysuru on Monday and plans to leave for Bengaluru on Wednesday.

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The change of the BJP candidate for the Mysuru-Kodagu seat from the sitting MP Pratap Simha to Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, a member of the Mysore royal family, has forced the CM to spend more time in the ‘royal’ City to work for the victory of his party candidate, and KPCC spokesperson  M.Lakshman.

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The former Congress MP and the current BJP MLC A.H.Vishwanath had volunteered to contest, after tendering his resignation to the saffron party, but the high command was unwilling to take a chance on him.

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The present candidate has been a close aide and follower of Siddaramaiah and it was only natural that the CM has pulled out all the stops to ensure his victory.

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According to sources, the CM decided to give more time to campaign for the Mysuru-Kodagu and Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha seats as these seats have been part of undivided Mysore district, and losing them would signal the weakening hold of the Congress over his home turf.

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Siddaramaiah is determined to camp in Mysuru to monitor the ground situation. He is expected to address the maximum number of rallies in taluks across these constituencies, to increase the chances of Lakshaman 's victory.

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It’s a tall order. The CM is privy to reports from the intelligence department that Yaduveer has the clear edge over the Congress candidate in seven of the eight Assembly constituencies in the Mysuru-Kodagu Lok Sabha constituency, forcing him to put Mysuru on top of his campaign agenda.

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The sources claimed that Yaduveer has been getting a very good response not only in rural areas but also in urban pockets. Naturally this has worried the Congress leaders. One of the main minus points for the Congress has been Siddaramaiah himself and his open disrespect for the Mysore Wadiyar family on its contribution to the erstwhile Mysuru state.

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Time and again he has questioned  the Mysuru rulers which has hurt the sentiments of many ‘real‘ Mysureans. The kings may no longer rule but the respect for the Mysore royal family has never been higher. This is the main stumbling block for the Congress party to counter Yaduveer  The CM would have not taken the parliamentary election so seriously if the BJP had given a ticket to Pratap Sinha. But now Siddaramaiah is pushing himself, sweating it out in the sizzling heat to beg votes for his party candidate.

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Siddaramaiah has already instructed his party leaders not to make any adverse comments on Yaduveer, cautioning that it would have a knock on effect on other constituencies as well.

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