GAYATRI SIDDESHWARA BIDS TO BE DAVANAGERE’S VOICE

A cavalcade of glitzy cars raises a cloud of dust as its speeds on roads in Davanagere’s hinterland. When it stops, a crowd gathers around, and a woman clad in a pink, cotton Jharkhand sari steps out of a car. She greets and meets people, mingles and chats.

Gayatri Siddeshwara, BJP’s candidate for Davanagere Lok Sabha seat and wife of incumbent MP GM Siddeshwara, is determined to win and be the voice of the women of Davanagere in Parliament. A self-confessed Narendra Modi and AB Vajpayee fan, she says it is her responsibility to do her bit for people. “I consider this a god-given opportunity,” she said while listening to women flocking around her. “The Neha (Hiremath) issue is something I will take up when I become MP.”

She vehemently strikes down the idea of being a political novice. “No, I was behind the scenes during the time of my father-inlaw, G Mallikarjunappa,” said Gayatri. “Today, I have been pushed to the front.”

Gayatri says she used to take care of 30 cows, which was a “small bit of my work”. Now, she has grander dreams — of serving “my land on a larger scale”. “With my experience and the support I have, I will win by a big margin.”

30 villages a day | An early-riser, Gayatri practises yoga. She hits the campaign trail at around 8am after a quick breakfast. She campaigns until 11 pm. She has set herself a target of visiting all the villages in the constituency — at least 30 every day. She has already campaigned in nearly 90% of the villages. Accompanied by local BJP functionaries and karyakartas, she visits every gram pan chayat. Her vehicle stops for 5-10 minutes in every village. She also religiously visits local temples.

Supporters too are enthusiastic and invariably welcome her with firecrackers and garlands. Some serve buttermilk and bananas to her team. Her stump speeches invariably end with chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’.

In Marabanahalli, Gayatri says she is confident of winning by a margin of over 1 lakh votes and supporters suggest it isn’t a tall claim as she has been receiving overwhelming support in Harapanahalli region as well.

She and her team stay hydrated with fruit juice. They stop for a quick lunch at the home of a follower before continuing.

Industrial corridor, GI tag | Highlighting plans for Davanagere, Gayatri said her priority is to get an industrial corridor at Harihara, and green flag the long-pending airport to develop tourism in the district.

“I am also eager to get Davanagere’s famous ‘benne dose’ GI-tagged.” She said ‘Kottureshwara’ is her favourite ‘benne dose’ joint.