Siddaramaiah quits as Karnataka CM, clears path for D K Shivakumar

Congress replaced Siddaramaiah with D K Shivakumar as Karnataka chief minister ahead of the 2028 Assembly polls and 2029 Lok Sabha elections

Congress leader Siddaramaiah, 77, quit as Karnataka chief minister (CM) on Thursday, paving the way for state Congress chief and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, who is 11 years younger, to succeed him. The party high command effected the change in the southern state as part of preparations for the Assembly polls due in May 2028 and the Lok Sabha elections a year later.

 

Shortly after submitting his resignation at Lok Bhavan, Siddaramaiah, with Shivakumar by his side, told a press conference in Bengaluru that the party high command had “directed” him two days ago to step down and that he had honoured its wishes. He thanked Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Mallikarjun Kharge for allowing him to serve the people of Karnataka twice.

 

 

He, however, ruled out taking up a role at the Centre, including a Rajya Sabha seat that the party leadership had offered him, and said he would continue to work in his home state.

 

A Socialist who spent much of his political life in Janata Parivar parties, Siddaramaiah joined the Congress in 2006 after falling out with Janata Dal (Secular) chief and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and his son H D Kumaraswamy.

 

Siddaramaiah hails from the Kuruba caste, an Other Backward Class (OBC) community traditionally engaged in cattle and goat herding, and considered the third most influential caste group after Lingayats and Vokkaligas. In a state where politics has long been dominated by Lingayats and Vokkaligas, Siddaramaiah galvanised the Ahinda communities and quickly emerged as the Congress’ foremost leader, with his oratorical and organisational skills contributing to his popularity. Ahinda is a Kannada acronym referring to minorities, backward classes, and Dalits.

 

In 2013, with the backing of a majority of newly elected Congress legislators, Siddaramaiah pipped Kharge and other contenders to become Karnataka CM. Ten years later, Shivakumar, a Vokkaliga leader, lost out to Siddaramaiah after most Congress legislators backed the latter for the top post. However, Congress sources have long maintained that a “rotational CM formula” had been worked out, under which Siddaramaiah was to make way for Shivakumar midway through the term. Neither leader, however, publicly acknowledged such an arrangement.

 

In a photograph shared by the Chief Minister’s Office from a breakfast meeting of the Council of Ministers, Siddaramaiah was seen hugging an emotional Shivakumar. In another image, Shivakumar was seen touching Siddaramaiah’s feet to seek his blessings.

 

Siddaramaiah is Karnataka’s longest-serving CM, having held the post for eight years — from 2013 to 2018 and again from 2023 to 2026 — eclipsing the record of Devaraj Urs.

 

Following Siddaramaiah’s resignation on Thursday, his supporters staged protests in several parts of the state. Leaders of the Karnataka State Federation of Backward Class Communities said there was no other Congress leader of Siddaramaiah’s stature. The Bharatiya Janata Party also took a swipe at the Congress, saying none of the party’s four CMs in the country belonged to the OBC community.

 

In a social media post, Siddaramaiah said his resignation was only from the post of CM and not from public life or his commitment to the people. “Until my last breath, I will continue to fight for social justice and stand against divisive communal forces that go against the spirit of our Constitution,” he said.

 

Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar are scheduled to be in Delhi to discuss the composition of the next Council of Ministers.