Former Karnataka Congress chief G Parameshwara is likely to be appointed deputy chief minister under Chief Minister-designate DK Shivakumar, ending weeks of speculation over how many deputies the new chief minister would have.
Sources say Parameshwara wants to be Shivakumar's only deputy, though factions within the party continue to push for more than one, NDTV reported. The oath-taking ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, with at least 12 ministers expected to be sworn in alongside Shivakumar.
A Dalit Pioneer
Parameshwara Gangadharaiah, born on August 6, 1951, in Gollahalli in Tumkur, is the first Dalit leader to have held the deputy chief minister post in Karnataka and also the longest-served president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, serving two consecutive terms.
After Mallikarjun Kharge, Parameshwara is widely regarded as the Congress party's tallest Dalit leader in Karnataka. He is a practising Buddhist.
Scientist Before Politician
Few Indian politicians arrive at high office with a doctorate from an Australian university, but Parameshwara is not a typical politician. He completed his B.Sc and M.Sc in Agriculture from the University of Agricultural Sciences in Bengaluru before obtaining a PhD in Plant Physiology from the Waite Agriculture Research Centre at the University of Adelaide in Australia.
Before entering politics, he managed the Sri Siddhartha Education Society, a group of institutions built by his father, G Gangadharaiah, serving as its administrative officer. As a student at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Parameshwara also held the record for running 100 metres in 10.9 seconds.
Rajiv Gandhi's Push Into Politics
Parameshwara's entry into politics came directly at the urging of then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. In 1989, while accompanying Education Minister SM Yahya to invite Gandhi for the inauguration of Sri Siddhartha Medical College, Gandhi told Parameshwara to join politics.
Yahya subsequently took him to then AICC general secretary Mohsina Kidwai, who made him joint secretary of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee. That same year, he won his first assembly election from Madhugiri constituency.
Decades at Heart of Karnataka Congress
Parameshwara's rise through the party was methodical and steady. He served as Minister of State for Sericulture in the Veerappa Moily cabinet in 1993, and from 1999 to 2004 held the Higher Education and Science & Technology portfolios in the SM Krishna cabinet.
He served as President of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee from October 2010 to July 2018, the longest stretch any Congress leader has held that post in the state. He was also appointed Home Minister of Karnataka in October 2015.
His First Term as Deputy CM
Parameshwara served as the 7th Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka from May 23, 2018 to July 23, 2019, under Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy — in a Congress-JD(S) coalition government.
He was the first Dalit leader to hold the Deputy Chief Minister post in Karnataka. That government, however, collapsed after just over a year when the coalition fell apart following a wave of rebel MLAs switching sides.
His tenure as deputy CM was cut short before he could make a lasting mark.
Current Role, CM Race He Never Won
In the current Siddaramaiah government, Parameshwara has been serving as Karnataka's Minister of Home Affairs since May 2023. In 2013, he had been considered the frontrunner for Chief Minister, but lost his own assembly seat of Koratagere, paving the way for Siddaramaiah to take the top job instead.
He has remained among the most vocal advocates for Dalit representation at the highest levels of government. "It is unfortunate that Dalits are yet to become chief minister," he once said at a function marking BR Ambedkar's birth anniversary. "It hurts when one is called a Dalit despite having climbed the social ladder."
A Long Wait, Rewarded Again
Now, as Karnataka's Congress government hands over to Shivakumar, Parameshwara is likely to return to the deputy chief minister's chair — this time, sources say, as the sole number two.
For a leader who spent over three decades as one of Congress's most loyal and patient operators, it is a moment that has been a long time coming.
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