NEW DELHI: Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday tendered his resignation from the state's top job, ending a months-long tussle with his deputy DK
Shivakumar.
Two days after his meeting with the
Congress high command in Delhi, Siddaramaiah reached Karnataka Bhavan and submitted his resignation to governor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s secretary.
After tendering his resignation, the Congress leader held a press conference and said he decided to step down from the CM post within 48 hours after the high command "asked him to do so".
“I have said and maintained that if the high command asks me to resign, I shall resign. Accordingly, the day before yesterday, the high command asked me to resign. I said I will resign in 48 hours. As a result, I have resigned,” Siddaramaiah said.
“The governor will look into my resignation letter after coming back from his tour, and I am confident that he will accept it as it is a constitutional action. The procedure is left to him, but once a CM gives his resignation letter, then it has to be approved to make way for the new CM,” he added.
What's next for SiddaFor an amicable transfer of power, the party high command had offered Siddaramaiah a Rajya Sabha seat and a national role in the party.
According to party insiders, Rahul Gandhi, in a one-on-one meeting, asked Siddaramaiah to consider taking up a new role in the party and respond within a week.
The possibility of shifting the 77-year-old leader to the Rajya Sabha has gained momentum ahead of elections to four Upper House seats from Karnataka in June. Congress is confident of winning at least three seats.
On Thursday, Siddaramaiah confirmed that he was offered a Rajya Sabha seat. He, however, added that he had “respectfully” declined the proposition.
“The high command offered me a Rajya Sabha seat, but I have declined it respectfully,” Siddaramaiah said.
“I have two more years as an MLA, and I will serve my people. I will continue in active politics. I have given my resignation on my own accord. But I am not retiring from politics and will continue to fight till my last breath against communal forces and for social justice,” he added.
The outgoing chief minister also made it clear that the decision on Karnataka’s next CM would rest with the Congress leadership and the Congress Legislature Party.
The rise and rise of Congress stalwartSiddaramaiah will leave behind a legacy built on welfare politics, backward class mobilisation and legislative dominance that shaped the Karnataka Congress’ trajectory for nearly two decades.
He was also the only OBC leader heading a Congress government in the country.
Siddaramaiah presented a record 17 state budgets, including the one in February this year. Just prior to that feat, on January 7, he became Karnataka’s longest-serving CM, overtaking his political mentor D Devaraj Urs.
Born on August 12, 1948, in Siddaramanahundi village of Mysuru district, Siddaramaiah came from a poor farmer’s family and went on to study at Mysore University, where he earned a BSc degree and later a law degree. He briefly practised as an advocate before entering politics, inspired by the socialist ideals of Ram Manohar Lohia.
His political journey began in the early 1980s as a taluk board member under the Janata movement. In 1983, he made his assembly debut from Chamundeshwari constituency in Mysuru on a Lok Dal ticket. During the Janata years, he became the first chairman of the Kannada Kavalu Samiti, formed under then chief minister Ramakrishna Hegde to oversee the implementation of Kannada as the official language. He later served as Sericulture Minister.
For over two decades, Siddaramaiah remained rooted in the Janata Parivar and built a reputation as a staunch anti-Congress leader. His rise within the Janata fold eventually brought him close to the leadership of H D Deve Gowda and the Janata Dal (Secular).
After the fractured Karnataka verdict in 2004, the Congress and JD(S) formed a coalition government. Siddaramaiah became deputy chief minister under Congress leader N Dharam Singh. However, he long believed he lost an opportunity to become chief minister because of internal resistance within the JD(S), particularly from Deve Gowda’s camp.
The fallout deepened in 2005 as H D Kumaraswamy emerged as a rising force in the party. Siddaramaiah responded by positioning himself as a backward class leader and began championing AHINDA — a Kannada acronym representing minorities, backward classes and Dalits. The movement significantly expanded his political base across Karnataka.
His expulsion from JD(S) pushed him to a political crossroads. Though he briefly spoke of taking “political sanyas” and returning to legal practice, he ultimately rejected the idea of floating a regional party, saying he lacked the resources.
In 2006, in what was then considered an unthinkable move, he joined the Indian National Congress along with his supporters.
Within the Congress, Siddaramaiah gradually consolidated his position through persistence and mass appeal and realised his long-held ambition in 2013 when he became chief minister of Karnataka for the first time.
Tug of war with DKSAfter the Congress lost power in 2018, Siddaramaiah remained one of the party’s tallest leaders in the state. In 2023, following the Congress’ return to power, he was once again chosen as chief minister after a prolonged internal tussle with deputy leader D K Shivakumar.
Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar together scripted the Congress victory in the 2023 Assembly elections. While Siddaramaiah’s AHINDA (minorities, backward classes and Dalits) plank countered the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Lingayat-Brahmin voter base, Shivakumar was credited with managing the party’s organisational machinery.
However, even during the run-up to the elections, the rift between the two leaders was clearly visible. During the campaign, Siddaramaiah and DKS were rarely seen sharing a stage together. It was only at the eleventh hour that Karnataka Congress president Shivakumar met Siddaramaiah to put up a united front and bring supporters of both leaders together.
After the Congress won in Karnataka, the high command found itself in a fix over the CM face. After days of deliberations, the party went ahead with Siddaramaiah’s name, given his seniority and popularity. However, an agreement was reportedly reached that DK Shivakumar would take over the reins in the second half of the government.
After the completion of two-and-a-half years, the DKS camp constantly pressured the high command to honour the agreement.
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