Wearing an ensemble of grey kurta and dhoti, the former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stole the show at the Opposition lounge of the Legislative Assembly on Saturday as the drama of Mr. Yeddyurappa’s resignation unfolded inside the House. Though he was seen sitting quietly in the Assembly during the oath-taking ceremony in the first row as leader of Opposition, he was in his element, as soon as the House adjourned for lunch.
Friends again
Sitting on the Opposition bench is nothing new to Mr. Siddaramaiah, as he held the post from 2009 to 2013, till he became the Chief Minister. However, for the first time after demitting office, Mr. Siddaramaiah was seen mingling with MLAs of both Congress and Janata Dal (Secular), as most of them are close to him, owing to his earlier political stint in the JD(S).
Mr. Siddaramaiah, on spotting his one-time colleague and JD(S) MLA from Sira, B. Satyanarayana, greeted him and said, “So you defeated our Law Minister T.B. Jayachandra!” Mr. Satyanarayana also recalled the days he served as Labour Minister along with Mr. Siddaramaiah. Senior politician and former Minister A.H. Vishwanath, who was sitting with his back to Mr. Siddaramaiah, turned nostalgic. He was talking about his days spent with the late Devaraj Urs and S.M. Krishna. Mr. Vishwanath, who has entered the Assembly after 14 years, met old friends in Congress, who came forward to wish him success.
