The sons of the two political veterans running for Karnataka Chief Minister will not face off in the constituency of Varuna in Mysuru. Varuna, a rural area with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah as its current legislator, was prepping for weeks for a show down between Mr Siddaramaiah's son, Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah, a pathologist by training, and BY Vijayendra, the son of the BJP's presumptive Chief Minister, BS Yeddyurappa. Monday's news triggered massive protests by BJP workers in Mysuru, who threatened to resign if Yeddyurappa Junior is not named a candidate by this morning.
"This was a decision taken by us," said Mr Yeddyurappa, who headed the BJP's first southern government when it won the Karnataka election in 2013. Around him, BJP workers broke down, distressed by what they see as a betrayal of their leader. Shouting slogans against BJP chief Amit Shah and party's senior leader from Karnataka, Ananth Kumar, angry workers damaged furniture at the venue at Nanjanagudu near Mysuru. Later, BY Vijayendra was unable to move out of his hotel because of the thick layers of supporters who had gathered outside and the police had to use batons to control the crowd. The protesting workers said they would resign from the party and vote for HD Deve Gowda's Janata Dal (Secular).