Siddaramaiah Moves Closer to Matching Urs’ Legacy as Karnataka CM

Bengaluru: Siddaramaiah‘s declaration earlier this week that he will complete a full five-year term as chief minister may have quelled immediate speculation of a change at the top, but his partymen say it reflects a deeper ambition: To match, or even surpass, D Devaraj Urs as Karnataka’s longest-serving CM.If Siddaramaiah stays in office till Jan 6 next year, he will have equalled Urs’ record of seven years and 238 days as CM. Urs, a pioneer of backward-class empowerment, served two terms in the 1970s and remains a political icon. Siddaramaiah, who draws support from a similar social base, is known to have privately expressed a desire to break that record.“This is Siddaramaiah’s legacy project. Completing a full term is about cementing his place in Karnataka’s political history,” said MN Patil, political analyst.

This ambition has deepened Siddaramaiah’s long-standing tension with deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar. Though the two had together steered Congress to victory in the 2023 assembly polls, their relationship has remained uneasy.Amid signs of growing friction, Congress’ high command dispatched AICC general secretary Randeep Surjewala to Bengaluru this week to calm things down. Following his intervention, the two publicly stated there would be no change in CM until 2028 — a claim that observers suggest should be taken with copious amounts of salt.

Siddaramaiah has resisted calls for a mid-term change, a key demand of Shivakumar’s supporters. However, sources say the high command is disinclined to make changes before Jan. “Siddaramaiah believes this is his last term. Matching Urs is personal for him,” said a senior Congress functionary.Urs, who became CM in 1972, was the first backward-class politician to hold the post in a state historically led by Lingayats and Vokkaligas.

He introduced the concept of Ahinda — a Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes, and Dalits — which reshaped Karnataka’s political landscape.Siddaramaiah, from the Kuruba community, revived Ahinda politics in the 2000s after leaving JD(S). He joined Congress in 2006, seeking a broader platform to consolidate marginalised communities — much like Urs decades earlier.“Both Urs and Siddaramaiah came from politically astute but socially backward backgrounds.

Urs gave Ahinda a name, Siddaramaiah gave it continuity,” said political commentator Vishwas Shetty.Both chief ministers also had confrontations with national figures. Urs opposed Indira Gandhi’s emergency and was expelled from Congress in 1979. Siddaramaiah clashed with HD Deve Gowda over succession in JD(S) and was expelled in 2005. Urs led Congress to a massive 165-seat win in 1972 with 52% vote share. Under Siddaramaiah in 2023, Congress won 135 seats with 42% — its best in 34 years.