BENGALURU: Arguably one of Karnataka’s tallest leaders in recent times, Siddaramaiah, who will now take oath as Karnataka’s 24th Chief Minister, has emerged as the Machiavelli of the state’s politics. A turncoat in Congress, the veteran leader will occupy the CM’s chair for the second time after 2013.
Hailing from Siddaramanahundi in Mysuru district, the 75-year-old Kuruba leader began his political career in 1978 when he was elected as a member of the Taluk Development Board from Raitha Sangha. In 1980 he unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections from Mysore.
He entered the Assembly for the first time in 1983 as a Lok Dal member winning from Chamundeshwari. He successfully contested the midterm polls in 1985 and became a minister and later was also part of the SR Bommai cabinet.
In 1994, he entered the Assembly for the third time, this time as a Janata Dal candidate, and became the finance minister in the HD Deve Gowda cabinet. When Gowda became the PM, a relatively young Siddaramaiah became the deputy chief minister under JH Patel. In 1999, when the Janata Dal split, he identified himself with the Janata Dal (Secular).
In 2004, when JDS formed a coalition government with Congress, he was considered the frontrunner for the CM’s post. But Gowda picked Congress’ Dharam Singh and Siddaramaiah once again became the DyCM. This, according to political pundits, was one of the many reasons for Siddaramaiah quitting the JDS and joining the Congress.
But Siddaramaiah had once claimed that he was expelled from JDS in 2005 and nursed a dream of launching his own party but backtracked later, which many considered as a politically-shrewd move. Joining the Congress in 2006 is considered as a turning point in his career.
When the Yediyurappa-led government came to power in 2008, the present AICC president, Mallikarjun Kharge, was the then the leader of the opposition. But Siddaramaiah tactfully managed to send Kharge to the national stage as the latter was forced to contest the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.
Siddaramaiah took the centre stage once again when Yediyurappa formed his own outfit, Karnataka Janata Paksha, in 2012. Siddaramaiah launched a padayatra to Ballari challenging the Reddy brothers over the issue of iron ore. The popularity he had gathered as the AHINDA (acronym for minorities, backward classes, and Dalits) leader made him the leader of the masses, eventually making him the CM in 2013.
When Congress-JDS formed an alliance in 2018, Siddaramaiah was made the coordination committee chairman. The coalition crumbled in 2019 as some of his supporters quit the party to help the BJP. Siddaramaiah lost from Chamundeshwari in his home turf Mysuru district and won from Badami in far away Bagalkot. But he soon became the leader of the opposition in the Assembly. Now, by chalking out an effective campaign against the Bommai-led BJP government, and with support from anti-incumbency, Siddaramaiah has once again become the state’s CM.
Mamata may skip swearing-in, stalin, Jagan among invitees
New Delhi/Bengaluru: Though the Congress may be looking to turn the swearing-in ceremony of Siddaramaiah as a platform to bring together Opposition ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, some prominent players may not be on board. Sources said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee may skip the ceremony though Congress has extended invitations to her. A Trinamool MP told TNIE that Mamata is unlikely to attend the swearing-in. However, Banerjee may send a representative. Sources said that Siddaramaiah’s office has extended an official invitation to Mamata Banerjee, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan Mohan Reddy, Telangana CM KC Chandrasekhar Rao, among other prominent non-NDA leaders. Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah and others are also on the list of invitees. The participation of Congress national leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi is almost confirmed, while it is learnt that Siddaramaiah has extended a personal invitation to JDS supremo HD Deve Gowda and former CM BS Yediyurappa. While CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury has been invited, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan is not on the list. ENS