Rohit Kumar
NEW DELHI, May 29: A day after stepping down as the Karnataka Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah on Friday met Rahul Gandhi and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi with a wishlist while rejecting the party high command’s offer for a Rajya Sabha seat.
According to party sources, his wishlist included plump portfolios for his son Yathindra in the next ministry, particularly medical education and backward classes, or alternatively industries or water resources, a portfolio which was held by his deputy DK Shivakumar.
The Karnataka governor Thawar Chand Gehlot on Friday on his return from his home state accepted the resignation of Mr Siddaramaiah as the chief minister and asked him to continue as caretaker chief minister till the new government was installed in the office. The party sources said the Congress legislature party was expected to meet on Saturday evening to elect the erstwhile Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar as the new leader to succeed Mr Siddaramaiah. A communication from Lok Bhavan said that the resignation has been accepted and the Council of Ministers headed by Mr Siddaramaiah has been dissolved.
Mr Siddaramaiah submitted his resignation to the special secretary of the Governor on Thursday in the absence of Mr Gehlot, who was away in Indore for personal reasons. Mr Siddaramaiah met Rahul Gandhi at Sonia Gandhi’s 10, Janpath residence on Friday morning. He was accompanied by his son Yathindra.
According to sources, Siddaramaiah handed over lists of names for Rajya Sabha and MLC appointments, along with his preferences for cabinet positions. He has turned down the Rajya Sabha seat offered by the high command and expressed his keenness to stay rooted in Karnataka politics.
“I’ll continue in active politics. I have no interest in national politics,” Siddaramaiah said on Thursday, shortly after stepping down. “I was also asked about the Rajya Sabha. I declined it. I want to remain in Karnataka politics,” he added.
That Siddaramaiah still held sway over the state was evident in both his decision to turn down a bigger national role and the influence he continued to wield over several ministers who served in his cabinet. Sources said when the Congress high command offered Satish Jarkiholi, who was the PWD minister in the Siddaramaiah cabinet, the post of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president, he said he would consult Siddaramaiah.
What is even more interesting are the portfolios sought for his son, which included not just water resources but also the Backward Classes Welfare Ministry, previously held by another Siddaramaiah aide, Tangadagi Shivaraj Sangappa.
Siddaramaiah has always projected himself as the tallest backward-class leader from the state and has overseen two caste surveys in the last nine years. So, it is only natural for him to preserve his legacy and seek the department for his son, Yathindra.
Moments after Siddaramaiah stepped down as Karnataka Chief Minister, his stature as the state’s most influential OBC leader became evident as members of the AHINDA bloc — minorities, backward classes and Dalits — poured onto the streets in several cities to protest the move. Many took to the streets, claiming that their leader had been sidelined by the Congress high command by being asked to step down midway through his term.
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