Two poster boys of the Congress in Karnataka were seen “standing together” after the party’s Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting in connection with the Karnataka Assembly elections in New Delhi.
A day after reportedly saying that the high command would not make Shivakumar the chief ministerial face of the Congress, Siddaramaiah today went into damage control mode, saying his statement was being misinterpreted.
“I gave an interview yesterday and said that I am an aspirant for the post of Chief Minister, DK Shivakumar is also an aspirant. Our aim is to defeat BJP and bring Congress to power…My statement has been misinterpreted…Never said high command is not happy with DK Shivakumar…,” Siddaramaiah said.
Addressing the media along with Siddaramaiah after the meeting, Shivakumar also tried to contain the situation. “Our aim is to bring the Congress back to power in Karnataka. We will bring good governance in the state. We all stand together,” he said.
Even though supporters of both the heavyweights have been engaged in a war of words over this big question for a long time, the Congress high command has so far refused to open the Pandora’s box, as elevating a leader to the post of CM is clearly a demotion. Will be Other. This question has become a big headache for the Congress before going to fight the BJP in the elections.
On the one hand, Siddaramaiah is among the tallest leaders in the state, on the other is Shivakumar who started his political innings with the Congress and never switched sides in his 40-year-old association.
Before the Congress decides, here’s a look at why Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar are frontrunners in the chief ministerial race and how they have become heavyweights in Karnataka politics:
Siddaramaiah
Siddaramaiah is the second chief minister in the history of Karnataka to complete five full years in office. Now a leader for the Congress, he joined the party only in 2006 after being a member of various Janata Parivar factions.
He hails from a remote village called Siddharamanhundi in Mysore district and belongs to the Kuruba (shepherd) community.
Inspired by Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia’s brand of socialism, Siddaramaiah was elected to the Legislative Assembly from Chamundeshwari in 1983 on a Bharatiya Lok Dal ticket headed by former Prime Minister Charan Singh.
He won the 1985 mid-term elections on a Janata Party ticket and became the Minister of Veterinary Services and Animal Husbandry. However, Siddaramaiah suffered his first electoral defeat in the 1989 elections. He was re-elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1994 and took over as the Finance Minister in the Janata Dal government headed by Deve Gowda. In 1996, the then CM JH Patel made Siddaramaiah his deputy.
After the split in the Janata Dal, Siddaramaiah sided with Deve Gowda’s Janata Dal (Secular) faction. Deve Gowda entrusted him with the responsibility of the Karnataka unit of the party.
Siddaramaiah’s second term as Deputy CM came in 2004 when Congress and JD(S) formed a coalition government. However, he was expelled from the party due to differences between him and Gowda.
Siddaramaiah planned to form a regional party “ABPJD”, but instead joined the Congress in 2006. He returned to the assembly in a 2006 by-election in the Chamundeshwari constituency.
In 2013, Siddaramaiah led the Congress to a majority and was rewarded with the chief minister’s post. However, when the Congress formed a coalition government with the JD(S) in 2018, HD Kumaraswamy was named the chief minister.
Siddaramaiah is currently the Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly.
DK Shivakumar
Shivakumar’s association with the Congress dates back to when he was a member of the Youth Congress. His meteoric rise in state politics began in 1989 when he won his first assembly election.
He was tasked with rebuilding the Youth Congress in Karnataka after most of the unit’s members switched allegiance to Devaraj Urs, a former chief minister who left the party in 1979.
In 1985, the Congress fielded him against HD Deve Gowda in Sathanur assembly constituency. Shivakumar failed to win but managed to increase his influence.
Shivakumar avenged the 1985 defeat in 1999 when he defeated Deve Gowda’s son HD Kumaraswamy in Sathanur. He was later inducted into SM Krishna’s cabinet as the Minister for Urban Development.
Siddaramaiah also inducted Shivakumar in his cabinet in 2014.
In 2017, Shivakumar played a key role in securing the Rajya Sabha seat of Ahmed Patel, a close aide of Sonia Gandhi, in a by-election to protect Congress MLAs from Gujarat from poaching attempts by rivals.
In 2020, Shivakumar was promoted to lead the Karnataka Congress.
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