Sunday, a rest day for many, is a momentous occasion for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. As he awaits the results of his fierce electoral fight from two constituencies in the 15th Legislative Assembly elections — which could, by his own admission, be his last battle with the ballot — he completes five years in office as Chief Minister of Karnataka.
He was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Karnataka on May 13, 2013. Mr. Siddaramaiah, who appeared high on confidence by the end of polling day, will know the future of his political career on May 15.
Mr. Siddaramaiah and D. Devaraj Urs (1972-77) are the only two Chief Ministers to complete five years in office as the Chief Minister of the State since the State of Mysore was renamed Karnataka (1973).
Both, the late Urs and Mr. Siddaramaiah hail from Mysuru district and belong to the backward classes. Both introduced several social welfare measures for the uplifit of the subaltern sections of society.
Though S.M. Krishna provided a stable governance during 1999-2004, his tenure was cut short by five months owing to his decision to go for early polls, along with General Elections in 2004.
While Urs is hailed as the greatest social reformer ever from the State, Mr. Siddaramaiah would be remembered for the introduction of several Bhagya schemes — anti-poverty schemes — particularly Anna Bhagya, and upholding “regional pride.”
Interestingly, Mr. Siddaramaiah, who introduced a law against superstitious practices, broke the jinx by visiting the Chamarajanagar district nine times since he assumed office. The Siddaramaiah government changed the names of 12 cities and towns of Karnataka, including Belgaum to Belagavi and Bangalore to Bengaluru.
Mr. Siddaramaiah entered the Legislative Assembly in 1983 from Chamundeshwari on a ticket from Bharatiya Lok Dal, headed by former Prime Minister Charan Singh. The 1983 win was a surprise victory for all and it earned him name and fame in the Old Mysuru region.
During the last five years, Mr. Siddaramaiah has proved to be an astute politicians by consolidating his hold of the government as well in the party, particularly when the Congress lost one State after the other across the country since 2014. Despite several challenges, such as sharing of inter-State Cauvery and Mahadayi waters and drought, Mr. Siddaramaiah managed not to earn the ire of farmers by seeking the support of the former Prime Minister Deve Gowda, as well as waiving crop loans.
The Chief Minister, who had earlier decided not to contest 2018 Assembly polls, has now said that this will be last poll.
