After weathering a storm within the party’s ranks amid speculation of a rift with his deputy, DK Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah is now within touching distance of surpassing the record of Karnataka’s longest-serving chief minister, D Devaraj Urs – another stalwart leader from the backward community with whom he shares uncanny similarities.
To mark this milestone, a Nati Koli Oota (country chicken festival) is being planned in Bengaluru on January 6 as Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is set to become the state’s longest-serving chief minister.
The major preparations are being planned by ‘Ahinda’, a political term coined by Urs himself – a Kannada acronym representing minorities, backward communities and Dalits.
Siddaramaiah is chasing the record of D Devaraj Urs, who is currently the longest-serving Chief Minister. Urs was a total of 2,792 days, or about 7.6 years, divided into two terms.
The comparison between Siddaramaiah and Urs extends beyond their tenures as both leaders share important parallels in their political journeys and community outreach.
Urs was the first Chief Minister after the state of Mysore was renamed as Karnataka in 1973. Before Urs, the state’s political leadership was dominated by the upper caste Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities. Urs, who belonged to the Arasu caste, marked a major shift in the political landscape of Karnataka by becoming the state’s first chief minister from a backward community.
Described as a leader for backward and minority communities, Urs implemented policies aimed at uplifting these communities and encouraged greater political participation among them.
After Urs, several chief ministers from backward communities emerged, including Sarekoppa Bangarappa, M Veerappa Moily and Siddaramaiah.
A member of the Kuruba Gowda community, which had a population of 4,372,847 according to the 2011 socio-economic and caste census, Siddaramaiah has been trying to revive Urs’ Ahinda politics. He is widely regarded as a leader who advocates for backward and minority communities in contemporary politics of Karnataka.
Like Urs, Siddaramaiah challenged the Lingayat and Vokkaliga dominated political landscape in Karnataka. His rise became even more prominent after the coalition between the BJP and the JD(S) in 2006 led to leaders from these communities regaining the office of chief minister. Siddaramaiah first held the post of chief minister in 2013.
After the 2018 Assembly elections, the Congress returned to power with the JD(S) as its junior coalition partner, but handed over the Chief Minister’s post to HD Kumaraswamy. That coalition was short-lived as defections from the Congress to the BJP led to the collapse of the alliance.
Both Urs and Siddaramaiah have managed internal party conflicts involving prominent national leaders. Urs faced friction with then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi over the imposition of Emergency in 1975, which resulted in his expulsion from the Congress in 1979.
Siddaramaiah had a political history with the JD(S), led by former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda. Their collaboration strengthened the JD(S) as a regional power, but the differences came to light in 2005 when Siddaramaiah became deputy chief minister in a JD(S)-Congress government.
A rotating power-sharing deal between the two parties failed to secure Siddaramaiah the prime ministership, prompting him to consolidate Ahinda’s support. Following a demand to resign as deputy chief minister, Siddaramaiah, claiming that he was expelled from the JD(S) by Deve Gowda, joined the Congress in 2006.
Under both Urs and Siddaramaiah, the Congress achieved significant electoral success in Karnataka. The Urs-led Congress won 165 of the 216 seats in the 1972 Assembly elections, with a vote share of 52.17 percent.
In the 2023 assembly elections led by Siddaramaiah, Congress won 135 of the 224 seats, securing a majority with a vote share of 42.88 percent. This was the party’s most decisive victory in Karnataka in 34 years.
An additional parallel between Urs and Siddaramaiah is their political versatility; both have been part of the Congress and the Janata Party. Urs served two terms as chief minister, while Siddaramaiah is in his second term.
Both Urs and Siddaramaiah showed the ability to garner significant public support, further strengthening their positions within party and state politics.
With just a week to go, Siddaramaiah is all set to surpass Devaraj Urs and cement his legacy as Karnataka’s longest-serving Chief Minister.
– Ends
#Natti #chicken #party #planned #Siddaramaiah #approaches #record #term #Karnataka