Within hours of resigning as the Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah clarified his future political stance. He said that he has no intention of going into national politics in Delhi. He also rejected the proposal to send him to the Rajya Sabha. Instead, the veteran Congress leader made it clear that he wants to remain active in Karnataka politics.
Siddaramaiah resigned as Chief Minister on Thursday. The Congress leadership decided to replace him with Deputy Chief Minister DK Sivakumar. Siddaramaiah announced this decision in a meeting with the cabinet members in the morning. DK Sivakumar was also present in the meeting.
There, Siddaramaiah said that the Congress top leadership wanted DK Sivakumar as the next Chief Minister and he accepted that decision. However, the biggest political message came from his comments in the Rajya Sabha. “The party asked me to go to Rajya Sabha. But I said no. I have no interest in national politics. I will be active in state politics,” Siddaramaiah told reporters bluntly.
According to political circles, this situation may make the Congress central leadership a little uncomfortable. Party sources said that in exchange for the change in leadership, Siddaramaiah has been given important responsibilities at the central level and in Rajya Sabha seats. But in the end he decided to stay in state politics.
For the past one year, there has been tension between the Congress over the post of Chief Minister of Karnataka. Although followers of DK Sivakumar repeatedly demanded a change in leadership, Siddaramaiah stood by him.
According to political observers, the Congress leadership did not want to take risks at that time with Tamil Nadu elections ahead. Siddaramaiah’s vote bank in Karnataka was considered important in the larger political equation of South India.
But now the situation has changed. Congress believes the political equation in Tamil Nadu and Kerala is now in its favour. The party is moving towards implementing the decision to change the leadership in Karnataka. Party sources claimed that a clear message was sent to Siddaramaiah in a private meeting with Rahul Gandhi in Delhi on Tuesday for about 35 minutes. He was asked to think about a larger political role beyond the borders of Karnataka. At the same time, it was also proposed to send him to one of the three constituencies in Karnataka in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.
According to sources, Rahul Gandhi told Siddaramaiah that from now on all decisions should be taken keeping in mind the 2028 Karnataka Assembly elections and 2029 Lok Sabha elections. But in the end, this veteran Congress leader did not want to enter national politics.
Now the new political equation in Karnataka is being explored. There is a lot of discussion in political circles about how the DK Sivakumar-led government will proceed and what role Siddaramaiah will play in state politics.