Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is all set to launch a series of AHNDA (coalition of minorities, backward classes and Dalits) rallies starting from December 5 in Hassan. The rally aims to strengthen support among marginalized communities in the Old Mysore region. It has traditionally been a stronghold of the Janata Dal (Secular) led by former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda.

The decision to launch the campaign in Hassan is seen as a calculated move to challenge the Gowda family’s dominance in the region. Hassan, along with neighboring districts like Mandya, Mysore and Chamarajanagar, has been a JD(S) stronghold for years. Siddaramaiah’s rally is being positioned as a show of strength, aimed at boosting his image as a mass leader and sending a message to the BJP and JD(S) that any attempt to undermine his leadership could lead to significant consequences.

The rivalry between Siddaramaiah and Deve Gowda reignited recently when Deve Gowda promised to “uproot the Congress government” during a rally in Channapatna. This declaration increased the urgency of Siddaramaiah’s strategy to mobilize AHNDA communities to strengthen Congress’s foothold in the region.

Siddaramaiah’s AHNDA rallies are reminiscent of his political strategy in the mid-2000s, when he, as a JD(S) leader, organized similar events to build a base among the backward classes and Dalits. This ultimately led to his falling out with Deve Gowda and leaving the JD(S). Now, as Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah is returning to this tried and tested approach to counter the growing BJP-JD(S) alliance in the Old Mysore region.

The rally took place at a time when Deve Gowda’s JD(S) is aligned with the BJP and is intensifying its rivalry for dominance in Old Mysore. For Siddaramaiah, success in these rallies could strengthen his position within the Congress and reaffirm the party’s commitment to marginalized communities.