Siddaramaiah

Siddaramaiah (2013)

Siddaramaiah ( Kannada : ಸಿದ್ದರಾಮಯ್ಯ ; born August 12, 1948 in Siddaramanahundi , Mysore District ) is an Indian politician ( Congress Party ). He was Chief Minister (Head of Government) of the state of Karnataka from 2013 to 2018 . He has been a member of the Congress Party since 2006, before that he was a member of the Janata Party , Janata Dal and Janata Dal (Secular) .

Origin and beginning of political career

Siddaramaiah was born on August 12, 1948 in the village of Siddaramanahundi in the Mysore district of southern Carnataka into a poor farming family. He belongs to the Kuruba caste , a shepherd caste that is low in the traditional caste hierarchy, but numerically strong. In Karnataka's politics, which are strongly characterized by caste loyalty, Siddaramaiah enjoys the support of the Kuruba caste. The Siddaramaiah, who comes from a Hindu family, describes himself as an atheist , but this does not prevent him from public temple visits.

Siddaramaiah studied law at Mysore University and then worked as a lawyer. His political career began when he was first elected as an independent candidate to Karnakata's parliament in 1983. A little later he joined the ruling Janata Party , from which the Janata Dal (JD) emerged in 1988 . In the 1985 election, Siddaramaiah defended his seat in parliament and then served in the Ramakrishna Hegdes government as Minister for Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services. In the parliamentary elections in 1989 Siddaramaiah lost his constituency, but in 1994 he managed to re-enter. He was Finance Minister in the HD Deve Gowda government . When Deve Gowda was appointed Prime Minister of all India in 1996, Siddaramaiah was the candidate for the office of Chief Minister in Karnataka, but could not prevail against JH Patel . When the Janata Dal split in 1999, Siddaramaiah joined the Janata Dal (Secular) (JD (S)). In the next election in 1999 he lost his constituency again, but was able to recapture it in 2004.

In 2005 Siddaramaiah was expelled from the Young Women’s (S) after falling out with HD Deve Gowda, who was the protector of his son HD Kumaraswamy . A year later, Siddaramaiah joined the Congress Party , for which he was elected to Karnataka's parliament in 2007 in a by-election . He was re-elected in the 2008 and 2013 elections. After the Congress party's election victory in 2013, Siddaramaiah prevailed against Union Minister Mallikarjun Kharge in the party’s internal race for the office of new Chief Minister . On May 13, 2013 he was sworn in as Chief Minister Karnatakas.

As Chief Minister (2013-2018)

An Indira canteen in Bangalore

During his tenure as Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah advocated a populist welfare policy . Under the catchphrase Bhagya ("welfare"), the Siddaramaiah government introduced a variety of programs for the benefit of the socially disadvantaged. A few hours after taking office, Siddaramaiah announced the distribution of free rice to the poorer classes of the population. It followed, among other things, free health care, shoes, school books, milk, bicycles, laptops and dentures. Based on the model of the "Amma canteens" introduced by the politician J. Jayalalithaa in the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu , "Indira canteens" (named after Indira Gandhi ), state-run restaurants that offer food at heavily subsidized prices, emerged in Karnataka from 2017 . Siddaramaiah's welfare efforts consumed an estimated 40 percent of the state's budget.

In addition to his welfare policy, Siddaramaiah campaigned for regionalism and emphasized the independent identity of the people of Karnataka. He spoke out repeatedly for the use of the local language Kannada and against the North Indian Hindi . In July 2017, he called for the Hindi lettering to be removed from the signage on the Bangalore Metro . In March 2018, the Siddaramaiah government introduced its own flag for the state of Karnataka. Also in March 2018, the Siddaramaiah government officially granted the Lingayats caste, which is strongly represented in Karnataka, the status of a separate religious community. In doing so, he was responding to a long-standing demand from parts of the Lingayat community who see the teachings of the poet saint Basavanna , to which the Lingayats adhere, a religion of their own, different from Hinduism. Siddaramaiah's decision was often seen as an attempt to secure the votes of the politically influential Lingayat caste in the run-up to the upcoming state elections.

Contrary to what was expected, Siddaramaiah did not succeed in securing re-election in the 2018 state election in Karnataka through his populist policies. As a result of the election, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) became the strongest party, but without winning an absolute majority. The Congress Party emerged from the election as the second strongest party. Siddaramaiah himself ran in two constituencies at the same time, of which he could only win one. As a result of the election, on May 15, 2018, he submitted his resignation from the office of Chief Minister. According to analysts, the recognition of the Lingayats as a separate religious community turned out to be an own goal. The Congress party did not succeed in gaining the desired number of votes from the Lingayats. At the same time, Siddaramaiah's commitment to the Lingayats led the influential caste group of the Vokkaligas , which traditionally competed with the Lingayats, to turn away from the Congress Party.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Deccan Chronicle, May 12, 2013: "Good Shepherd cometh, he must tend to the whole flock".
2. ↑ Rediff.com, May 13, 2013: "Atheist Siddaramaiah and God's changing role in politics".
3. ^ NDTV, May 13, 2013: "Who is Siddaramaiah?".
4. ^ The Hindu, April 29, 2018: "Will the bhagya welfare schemes tilt fortunes in Siddaramaiah's favor?".
5. ↑ The Economic Times, July 29, 2017: "Scrap Hindi from signage, Siddaramaiah tells Bengaluru Metro".
6. ↑ The Hindu, April 30, 2018: "Flying the flag of Kannada pride".
7. ↑ Hindustan Times, March 19, 2018: "Karnataka govt moves to give Lingayat's separate religion status".
8. ↑ Hindustan Times, May 16, 2018: "The anti-incumbency factor against Siddaramaiah that no one saw coming in Karnataka".
9. ^ The Economic Times, May 15, 2018: "Siddaramaiah resigns after Congress defeat in Karnataka polls".
10. ↑ Deccan Herald, May 16, 2018: "https://www.deccanherald.com/state/lingayat-issue-complacency-led-congress-defeat-670139.html".

Web links

• Profile of Siddaramaiahs on the website of the Parliament of Karnataka