Congress veteran Siddaramaiah, who has been Karnataka chief minister for the past three years, stepped down on Thursday to make way for his deputy D.K. Shivakumar on the party high command’s instructions.
Siddaramaiah, who had earlier been chief minister from 2013 to 2018, handed over his resignation letter to the secretary of governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, who was away in Indore. Shivakumar and other cabinet ministers accompanied Siddaramaiah to the governor’s office.
The outgoing chief minister left for New Delhi shortly afterwards to meet the Lok Sabha leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi.
The 77-year-old, Karnataka’s longest-serving chief minister with a combined tenure of just over eight years, said he had stepped down in keeping with the constitutional process. He said he was confident that Gehlot would accept his resignation after he returned to Bengaluru.
“The Congress high command directed me two days ago to step down, and accordingly, I submitted my resignation today. I got the opportunity to serve the people of Karnataka twice, for which I thank Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge,” a teary eyed Siddaramaiah told a packed media
conference.
He claimed he had “humbly declined” the Congress high command’s offer of a Rajya Sabha seat, asserting he would remain in state politics as Varuna MLA for at least the two remaining years of the government’s term.
“The high command asked me to go to the Rajya Sabha. I declined it humbly. I’m not interested in national politics. I will remain in state politics. The people have elected me for five years, and two years are left of it. Till then, I shall work for the people of Karnataka and for my constituency,” Siddaramaiah said.
Several of his cabinet colleagues and other senior party leaders turned emotional, some of them seeking his blessings by falling at his feet. Siddaramaiah’s supporters protested in several parts of the state against what they saw as a forced resignation.
Celebrations broke out outside the residence of Shivakumar, with several Congress leaders and lawmakers arriving to congratulate him.
Siddaramaiah has contested 12 Assembly elections and won 9 of them. He holds the record of presenting 17 state budgets, and his party colleagues say he is clever with figures.
The veteran is said to have prepared a list of demands for the party central leadership. Sources said he wants his son Yathindra and two loyalists — said to be home minister G. Parameshwara and large and medium scale industries minister M.B. Patil — to be made deputy chief ministers.
Siddaramaiah is also learnt to have sought the state Congress chief’s post for another loyalist, public works minister Satish Jarkiholi, as part of his efforts to keep Shivakumar in check.
A party source told The Telegraph that Rahul had decided to overhaul the Karnataka cabinet and not only bring in fresh faces but also give larger representation to the Ahinda, the Kannada acronym for a coalition of the alpasankhyataru (minorities), Hindulidavaru (backward classes) and Dalitaru (Dalits).
Siddaramaiah, who is from the OBC Kuruba community, has been a prominent advocate of Ahinda politics. His Kuruba supporters burned Rahul’s photos in Raipur on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, at a breakfast meeting at his residence, Siddaramaiah had informed his cabinet colleagues that he was going to step down. He added that he was making way for Shivakumar in keeping with a directive from the high command.
The meeting sought to project a picture of unity with Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar hugging each other. Shivakumar also touched Siddaramaiah’s feet.
However, it may not be all smooth sailing for Shivakumar as chief minister. On Wednesday, Siddaramaiah decided to accept the Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission’s caste survey report, which he is believed to have prodded the panel to complete before his exit.
The onus will now be on Shivakumar, who belongs to the forward Vokkaliga community, to implement the report.
When Siddaramaiah was chosen as chief minister over Shivakumar in May 2023, Shivakumar had claimed there was a power-sharing formula under which he would become the chief minister after two-and-a-half years.
He said the formula had been agreed by Rahul, Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal and the party general secretary in charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala,
Siddaramaiah, however, did not yield to Shivakumar’s pressure tactics and continued as chief minister beyond two-and-a-half years.
But with the Rajya Sabha elections and local body polls scheduled in June, the Congress high command asked Siddaramaiah to make way for his influential deputy lest it affect the party’s prospects.
With Congress general secretary and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra rooting for Shivakumar, the party central leadership too decided to back him.