A day after stepping down as Karnataka Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah on Friday met Rahul Gandhi and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi, presenting his list of demands to the party high command, including plum portfolios for his son Yathindra in the new DK Shivakumar-led cabinet.
According to sources, Siddaramaiah handed over lists of names for Rajya Sabha and MLC appointments, along with his preferences for cabinet positions.
Sources said he also pushed for key portfolios for his son, Yathindra Siddaramaiah, including medical education and backward classes, or alternatively industries or water resources, a portfolio which was held by Shivakumar.
Now, after the dust has settled over handing the reins to Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah 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, Karnataka’s longest-serving Chief Minister, still holds sway over the state was evident in both his decision to turn down a bigger national role and the influence he continues to wield over several ministers who served in his cabinet.
Sources told India Today that when the Congress high command offered Satish Jarkiholi, who was the PWD minister in the Siddaramaiah cabinet, the post of KPCC (Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee) 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.
A day later, as Siddaramaiah holds meetings with the Congress high command, all eyes will be on how many of the former Chief Minister’s demands are accepted -- a signal that could also indicate who truly holds the reins in the soon-to-be-formed DK Shivakumar cabinet.
