From taking the fight against the Centre’s alleged ‘step-motherly’ treatment of Karnataka to the national capital, to giving Congress a ‘Karnataka model’ to bolster its fight against BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Siddaramaiah has been at the centre of power, influence and controversies. Being the Chief Minister, he draws attention by default. Yet, it has been a most eventful year for the 77-year-old leader. He was full of action for good or not-so-good reasons.
In the second year of his second stint as chief minister, he faced the toughest challenges in his over four-decade political career. Yet, he is growing strong. Siddaramaiah was almost projected as the poster boy of the party ahead of the Lok Sabha polls when Congress saw a glimmer of hope of a comeback at the Centre. Congress’s central leaders harped on the Karnataka model of governance and its guarantee schemes.
Siddaramaiah remains its mainstay in Karnataka and has emerged as one of its most formidable regional satraps. He is among the handful of mass leaders with a pan-Karnataka appeal, and he has positioned himself as an indispensable leader for his party and the government.
He remained a strong critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and never let go of any opportunity to hit out at them. Though AICC president Mallikarjuna Kharge hails from the state and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar is a formidable number two in the government, Siddaramaiah has held his own. At times, it even looked as though his brand of politics was overriding that of the party. Such an approach landed the party in a tight spot in some instances, including issues relating to Waqf land and the Panchamasali Lingayat reservation.
While the opposition BJP accuses the CM of going overboard with his efforts to woo the minority community, the Waqf Board’s over-enthusiasm to issue notices to property owners caused embarrassment to his party, even at the national level. The State Government’s mishandling of the issue when the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 was in the Lok Sabha weakened Congress’s stand against it. So much so that Karnataka emerged as the epicentre of the issue. BJP launched a statewide agitation. The Siddaramaiah government had to relent by announcing the withdrawal of notices issued to farmers.
His leadership received a boost after the party’s 3:0 emphatic win in the assembly by-polls at a time when the CM and government were facing serious allegations. Although the ruling parties have a natural advantage in the polls, considering the profile of the constituencies, it was still a reason for the Congress and CM to celebrate. Of the three seats the Congress won, two were previously represented by Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy and former CM and BJP MP Basavaraj Bommai.
Guarantees vs development
As Karnataka’s Special Representative in New Delhi and former Congress minister TB Jayachandra puts it, fiscal management and implementation of the guarantees were among the biggest achievements of Siddaramaiah. The flagship guarantee schemes are backed by budgetary allocation of around Rs 56,000 crore. While the long-term impact of such schemes on the economy needs to be assessed, the government recently claimed that the state’s per capita GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product) remains among the highest in India and its pro-people policies, including guarantees, ensured that benefits reached all sections of society.
As the CM recently mentioned, under guarantee schemes the government provides annual benefits of Rs 48,000 to Rs 60,000 to beneficiary families. Jayachandra, who has been closely working with Siddaramaiah, says the CM’s experience in presenting a record 15 state budgets and his astuteness in handling state finances enabled him to manage funds for guarantees and development. However, on the flip side, the government faces allegations of ignoring infrastructure development.
As he bids adieu to a most eventful 2024, Siddaramaiah faces quite a few challenges and pitfalls, including ongoing cases and the party’s internal dynamics. But as of now, none of them seem to have offset his rhythm. A lot depends on the outcome of the cases under investigation as that could alter the course of state politics and the political fortunes of Siddaramaiah. For now, he enjoys the trust of the party’s top leadership and MLAs which makes him a force to reckon with. As they say, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going…”