A few days ago there was a tussle for the post of Chief Minister in Karnataka. During this time Siddaramaiah also had to face some stressful moments. However, Siddaramaiah has now made a new record in his name. He has become the longest serving Chief Minister of Karnataka. Siddaramaiah was associated with the Janata Parivar for more than two decades. During this time he was known for his outspoken anti-Congress stance, but this has been a remarkable turnaround for the 77-year-old. He on Tuesday equaled the record of number of days in office held by his fellow Mysore resident Devaraj Urs.
Siddaramaiah, during his second term as Chief Minister, became the longest serving Chief Minister of the state. He has completed 2,792 days so far in his second term. With this record, Siddaramaiah has now equaled Urs’ record as Chief Minister. Along with this, the next record will be in his name from January 7. At the same time, Urs, considered a symbol of social justice and land reforms in the state, was the Chief Minister twice. He became Chief Minister for the first time in 1972. His tenure ended in 1977. After this his second term lasted from 1978-1980. Siddaramaiah, who is also the only Chief Minister to complete five years after Urs. Siddaramaiah’s first term lasted for 1,829 days from May 13, 2013 to May 15, 2018. After this, he has completed 963 days in his second term from May 20, 2023 till now, but before that, supporters of Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar tried to create hurdles by strongly demanding promotion of their leader in line with the rumors of power-sharing formula of 2023.
From the early 1980s to 2005, Siddaramaiah, who came from a poor farming family, was a staunch opponent of the Congress. But he found himself in a political dilemma after being expelled from JD(S) by former Prime Minister Deve Gowda. After this he finally joined the same party which he had once opposed. On the strength of his patience and perseverance, Siddaramaiah realized his lifelong dream. After this, he became the Chief Minister from Congress in 2013. With this he became a nine-time MLA. After this, Siddaramaiah once again became the Chief Minister of Karnataka in 2023. Siddaramaiah, who has never hidden his ambition to complete his tenure as Chief Minister for the last time. He is looking forward to a grand sendoff. However, he has given mixed signals about continuing in electoral politics.
Along with this, the credit goes to Siddaramaiah for becoming the Chief Minister by defeating the senior Congress leaders. Shivakumar in 2023 and M Mallikarjun Kharge a decade ago. After a fractured mandate in 2004, Congress and JD(S) formed a coalition government, with Siddaramaiah, who was in JD(S), replacing N. Dharam Singh was made the Deputy Chief Minister, who became the Chief Minister. Siddaramaiah regrets that he had the opportunity to lead the state at that time, but Gowda ruined his chances. Subsequently, in 2005, Siddaramaiah, who belonged to the Kurubas, the third largest caste in Karnataka, decided to establish himself as a leader of the backward classes. Led AHINDA (Kannada acronym for Minorities, Backward Classes and Dalits) conferences. Incidentally, at a time when former Prime Minister’s son HD Kumaraswamy Deve was being seen as the rising star of the party.
Siddaramaiah was sacked from JD(S), where he had earlier served as its state unit chief. Critics of the party say that he was removed because Deve Gowda was keen to promote Kumaraswamy. At that time Siddaramaiah talked about political retirement. Even considered the idea of returning to law. He refused to form a regional party, saying he lacked funds. At that time both BJP and Congress had tried to woo him. But Siddaramaiah said that he did not agree with the ideology of the BJP. Joined Congress along with his followers in 2006. This was a step that was considered unthinkable just a few years ago.
In 2004, he narrowly missed the chance to get the chief minister’s post. Because the then Chief Minister Deve Gowda had become the Prime Minister. Siddaramaiah to J.H. Left behind by Patel, in whose cabinet he was the Deputy Chief Minister. He served as Finance Minister in the cabinets of both Gowda and Patel. Along with this, Siddaramaiah, who has emerged as a public leader. He presented state budgets 16 times. A member of the Janata Parivar, he was influenced by the socialist ideals propounded by Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia. He left his law profession to pursue a political career.
For the first time, he was elected from Chamundeshwari Assembly seat of Mysuru on Lok Dal Party ticket in 1983. After this he lost the 1989 and 1999 assembly elections and the 1991 Lok Sabha election from Koppal. After joining the Congress, he was the chairman of the KPCC’s campaign committee in the 2008 elections. After the defeat of the Congress in that election, he became the leader of the opposition. He strongly criticized the BJP government on the issues of corruption, scams and illegal mining.
Known for his administrative skills, Siddaramaiah served a successful five-year tenure as chief minister of the Congress government between 2013-18. However, despite gaining popularity due to popular fortune schemes, Congress faced defeat in 2018. Siddaramaiah himself lost the 2018 elections in Chamundeshwari, Mysore to JD(S)’s GT Deve Gowda by 36,042 votes. However, he won from Badami in Bagalkot district. After the 2018 elections, Siddaramaiah served as the head of the coalition coordination committee of the Congress-JD(S) government, and after the fall of the coalition government and the coming to power of the BJP, he became the leader of the opposition. Declaring the 2023 elections as his last, Siddaramaiah returned to his home constituency Varuna and won from there once again. He had then said that this could be his last election, but even after this he would remain active in politics.