BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said he has rejected an offer to move to the Rajya Sabha and will remain in state politics, hours after submitting his resignation to the governor’s office at Raj Bhavan in Bengaluru, stating that the Congress’ offer is not yet over in Karnataka.
“They asked me to go to Rajya Sabha. I politely told them no, saying I want to stay in state politics and am not interested in national politics,” Siddaramaiah told reporters at a farewell press conference after stepping down from his post.
The outgoing Prime Minister said that he will continue in public life and complete his remaining term as an MLA. “I have two more years as MLA. I will serve my people. I will continue in active politics,” he said.
When asked about the succession, Siddaramaiah refused to name the preferred candidate. “Whoever the high command and CLP choose will be the chief minister of the state,” he said while sitting next to DK Shivakumar.
But his decision to remain active in Karnataka politics could cause some heartburn for Shivakumar and will keep factions within the Cabinet and the party alive. The party high command suggested him to get Rajya Sabha nomination with the aim of making it easier for Shivakumar to run the government.
Journalist and political analyst Sujata Srinivasaraju said Siddaramaiah’s immediate priority would be to secure the political future of his family and those close to him. He added: “It has always been known that he has never been interested in national politics, largely due to language issues. While he will continue to hold front benches at Treasury, his role in the build-up to the 2028 election is likely to be limited.”
A day before resigning, the outgoing Prime Minister accepted the caste census report aimed at increasing reservation for Other Backward Classes in proportion to their population. The report, the findings of which are yet to be made public, may upset the dominant Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities. DK Shivakumar is Vokkaliga.
On the caste census, Srinivasaraju said Siddaramaiah has chances to accept the report in 2015 and during his current tenure. “The perception that acceptance of the report was a parting gift to the Ahinda community does not hold up,” he said.
During the nearly hour-long interaction with the media, Siddaramaiah repeatedly returned to the themes that have shaped his political identity over four decades of public life: the Constitution, social justice and welfare politics. “I believe that the Constitution is our dharma and voters are our gods,” he said. “I believe that all sects, religions and communities should live together.”
Siddaramaiah defended his government’s guarantee schemes and rejected allegations that welfare spending had weakened the state’s public finances.
“There have been disinformation campaigns against me, including by the country’s prime minister who said our treasury would be empty and there would not be any money for social welfare programmes,” he said. “But after we launched the five guarantee schemes, Karnataka became first in terms of per capita income and second in GST collection.”
Responding to the debt-related allegations, Siddaramaiah said Karnataka remained within financial limits. He said, “The fiscal deficit must be less than 3%. We are at 2.95%. Debt must be 25% of GDP. We are at 24.94%.”
He said the state’s revenue shortfall was linked to the previous BJP government and lower than expected allocations from the Finance Commission. He added, “The purchasing power of people’s lives has improved thanks to guarantee programs.”
The outgoing Prime Minister said he had no regrets about his political career and insisted he had never compromised on his principles. “I never believed in creating a fortune for myself,” he said. “Only those who have the power of the people can come to power. It is the people who bring us to power.”
Recalling his rise from rural Karnataka, Siddaramaiah described his political journey as improbable. “I come from a village. I never thought I would become a minister, minister or prime minister,” he said. “My entry into politics was an accident. No one in my family worked in politics.”
He thanked Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge for their support after he joined the party after being expelled from the Janata Dal (Secular). “Sonia Gandhi invited me to the Congress party in 2008 when I was expelled from the JD(S) party for mobilizing under the banner of AHINDA,” he said.
