BENGALURU: His detractors call him “Niddaramaiah”, which is Kannada for “sleeping Ramaiah”. But Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah , who suffered from sleep apnea, appears to have shaken off the lethargy that most of his four-year administration has been castigated for and worked out his own counter-strategy for every move that the BJP is making, in the run-up to the 2018 state assembly poll.BS Yeddyurappa, state president of the BJP, who has been tasked by the party’s national president, Amit Shah , to wrest Karnataka from the Congress, has been touring extensively. The BJP machinery, supported by the extensive Sangh Parivar network in Karnataka, is in full swing and every possible avenue to batter Siddaramaiah and the Congress is being explored.The Congress party is looking helpless and non-effectual, but Siddaramaiah has managed to respond to situations in the last one month. “The CM has worked out a counter strategy. If the BJP raises communal issues, Siddaramaiah will rouse Kannada pride, like the asmita factor that worked for Narendra Modi in Gujarat. The BJP identity politics in Odisha paid them dividends in the panchayat polls. Siddaramaiah is using their own technique and is making this into a Kannada vs Hindutva poll,” a political analyst, who closely follows Siddaramaiah’s actions, told ET.Siddaramaiah’s supporters contend that his pro-Kannada moves, including the recent one to have a state flag, are just a continuation of his support to the Kannada cause. His detractors insist that the CM is making every move with an eye on the upcoming polls. “He is countering every BJP move in a calculated manner,” a JD(S) leader said.As Yeddyurappa ranted about farm loan waivers effected by BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, Siddaramaiah announced his own waiver and followed that up with letters to Prime Minister Modi seeking bigger waivers from commercial banks for farmers.When Yeddyurappa and his close aide, MP Shobha Karandlaje, castigated the state administration for communal violence in the Mangaluru region, the CM slashed back saying, “This has come about only because the Sangh Parivar has made this region their laboratory.” He declared that he is “a Hindu” and that he has “Sidda Rama” (ready Rama in Kannada) in his name, but his Hinduism soothed and did not cut. The ADGP (intelligence) was also transferred.The most unusual aspect, however, has been the clarification the CMO issued after two warring IPS officers—HS Sathyanarayana Rao and D Roopa—were transferred over alleged irregularities, including luxurious facilities for AIADMK’s Sasikala in Bengaluru’s Parappana Agrahara jail.The BJP made this out as an attempt to silence a whistleblower and cover up crimes, but the CMO clarified that the transfers were done as per rules and that an inquiry has been set up into the allegations. Neither Siddaramaiah nor his office has ever bothered to clarify any of their actions before.