The two Congress poster boys in Karnataka appeared to “stand together” after the party’s Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting regarding the Karnataka Assembly elections in New Delhi.
A day after he reportedly said that the high command won’t make Shivakumar Congress CM face, Siddaramaiah today came into a damage control mode and said his statement was misinterpreted.
“I gave an interview yesterday and said I’m an aspirant for the CM post, DK Shivakumar is also an aspirant. Our aim is to defeat the BJP and bring Congress to power…My statement was misinterpreted…Never said High Command isn’t happy with DK Shivakumar…,” Siddaramaiah said.
Addressing media along with Siddaramaiah after the meeting, Shivakumar too tried to put salvage the situation. “Our aim is to bring Congress back to power in Karnataka. We will bring good governance to the State. We all stand together,” he said.
Even though the supporters of both heavyweights are enggaged in war of words over the big question for a long time, the Congress high command so far refused to open the pandora’s box, since elevating a leader to the CM post would clearly be a demotion for the other. The question has become a big headache for Congress before it goes to fight the BJP in the elections.
On one side, Siddaramaiah is among tallest leaders in the state, the other is Shivakumar who started his political innings with Congress and never switched sides in his 40 years old association.
Before Congress make a decision, here is a look at why Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar are frontrunners for the CM race and how they become heavyweights in Karnataka politics:
Siddaramaiah
Siddaramaiah is the second CM in Karnataka’s history to complete a full five years in the office. Now a frontrunner for Congress, he joined the party only in 2006 after being a member of various Janata Parivar factions.
He hails from a remote village called Siddaramanahundi in Mysore district and belongs to the Kuruba (shepherd) community.
Inspired by Dr Ram Manohar Lohia brand of socialism, Siddaramaiah was elected to Assembly from Chamundeshwari on a ticket from Bharatiya Lok Dal, headed by former Prime Minister Charan Singh in 1983.
He won 1985 mid-term polls on Janata Party’s ticket and became minister for veterinary services and animal husbandry. However, Siddaramaiah suffered his first electoral defeat in 1989 elections. He was again elected to the Assembly in 1994 and took over the charge of the finance minister in the Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal government. In 1996, then CM JH Patel made Siddaramaiah his deputy.
Siddaramaiah sided with Janata Dal (Secular) faction of Deve Gowda following the split in the Janata Dal. Deve Gowda trusted him with the responsibility of the party’s Karnataka unit.
Siddaramaiah’s second stint as deputy CM came in 2004 when Congress and JD(S) formed a coalition government. However, he was expelled from the party after differences cropped up between him and Gowda.
Siddaramaiah planned to float a regional party “ABPJD” but instead joined Congress in 2006. He returned to the assembly in the 2006 by-polls in Chamundeshwari constituency.
In 2013, Siddaramaiah led Congress to a majority and was rewarded with the CM post. However, when Congress formed coalition government with JD(S) in 2018, HD Kumaraswamy was named the chief minister.
Siddaramaiah is currently the Leader of Opposition in Karnataka assembly.
DK Shivakumar
Shivakumar’s association with Congress goes a long way back when he was a member of Youth Congress. His meteoric rise in state politics began in 1989 when he won his first assembly election.
He was tasked to rebuilt Young Congress in Karnataka from scratch after majority of unit members switched allegiance to former chief minister, Devaraj Urs, who quit the party in 1979.
In 1985, Congress fielded him against HD Deve Gowda in the Sathanur assembly constituency. Shivakumar failed to pull off a victory but managed to grow his influence.
Shivakumar took the 1985 defeat revenge in 1999 when he defeated Deve Gowda’s son, HD Kumaraswamy, in Sathanur. He was subsequently inducted into SM Krishna’s cabinet as minister for urban development.
Siddaramaiah also inducted Shivakumar in his cabinet in 2014.
In 2017, Shivakumar played a crucial role to Congress MLAs from Gujarat to safeguard them from poaching attempts by rivals to secure Sonia Gandhi’s close aide Ahmed Patel’s Rajya Sabha seat in bye-election.
In 2020, Shivakumar was promoted to lead the Karnataka Congress.
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