Siddaramaiah, one of the most powerful leaders in Karnataka politics, has stepped down from his post as Chief Minister, capping a remarkable journey spanning nearly five decades. Interestingly, a leader who began his political career as a staunch opponent of the Congress party went on to script history by becoming its longest-serving Chief Minister in the state. The 77-year-old veteran resigned following instructions from the Congress high command, leaving office with two years remaining in his current term.
Born into a poor farming family in the Mysuru district, Siddaramaiah initially practiced as a lawyer before entering politics, deeply inspired by the ideology of Ram Manohar Lohia. He began his journey in the Janata Parivar as a taluka board member and was first elected as an MLA from the Chamundeshwari constituency in 1983 under the Lok Dal party. Over the years, he became a key figure alongside former Prime Minister Deve Gowda in the JD(S) and served as Deputy Chief Minister in the 2004 Congress-JD(S) coalition government. However, differences arose when Siddaramaiah felt Deve Gowda blocked his path to the Chief Minister’s seat, leading to his exit from the party in 2005.
In a move that stunned the Kannada political landscape, the lifelong anti-Congress leader joined the Congress party in 2006. Through patience and determination, he consolidated his strength by championing ‘AHINDA’ politics—a powerful social coalition uniting minorities, backward classes, and Dalits. He achieved his lifelong dream by becoming Chief Minister for the first time in 2013, serving a full five-year term, and later returned to power in 2023. During his second tenure, he broke the long-standing record of legendary leader Devaraj Urs to become the longest-serving CM in Karnataka history. His long career, however, has not been without challenges, marked recently by a protracted three-year leadership tussle with Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar and ED investigations into alleged irregularities regarding MUDA land allotments.
