A file photo of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, Home Minister G. Parameshwara and others during a road show in Chamarajanagar before party candidate Sunil Bose filed his nomination papers for Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha constituency.
Before stepping down from office on Thursday, Karnataka’s longest-serving Chief Minister Siddaramaiah appeared to have decisively debunked a long-standing superstition that Chief Ministers who visit Chamarajanagar lose power.For decades, successive Chief Ministers had avoided visiting Chamarajanagar town owing to the deeply entrenched belief that a visit would cost them the coveted post. The district’s perceived neglect and backwardness were often attributed to the reluctance of Chief Ministers to visit the region.Mr. Siddaramaiah, however, consistently dismissed the superstition. Even during his earlier tenure as Chief Minister, he visited Chamarajanagar on several occasions without hesitation and successfully completed his full term in office, thereby demolishing the myth.During his second tenure too, Mr. Siddaramaiah continued to tour different parts of the district regularly. Last year, he even convened a special Cabinet meeting at M.M. Hills, bringing the government’s focus sharply on development initiatives in the border district.During a recent visit to Gundlupet in Chamarajanagar district in April 2026 in the midst of the speculation over his replacement as the Chief Minister, reporters pointed out that he had visited the district more than 20 times while serving as Chief Minister. Reiterating that he had no faith in the superstition surrounding Chamarajanagar, Mr. Siddaramaiah said, “That is why I have visited Chamarajanagar several times.”When reporters reminded him of his earlier remark that his political position had, in fact, strengthened after every visit to the district, Mr. Siddaramaiah clarified that the statement had been made in a lighter vein. “Don’t take it seriously,” he remarked during what turned out to be his final visit to Chamarajanagar as Chief Minister.Although Mr. Siddaramaiah represents the Varuna Assembly constituency in Mysuru district, the constituency forms part of the Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha segment, which comprises eight Assembly constituencies.During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Mr. Siddaramaiah had campaigned extensively for Congress candidate Sunil Bose, who eventually won the seat. Published - May 29, 2026 12:48 am IST
