Siddaramaiah: All You Need To Know About The 24th CM of Karnataka

The Congress on Thursday announced senior party leader Siddaramaiah as the next chief minister of Karnataka. Siddaramaiah, a 9-time MLA was competing with KPCC president DK Shivakumar for the chief minister's post. He will take oath as Karnataka CM on Saturday, May 20 in Bengaluru.

Here are some facts about the new Chief Minister of Karnataka.

Born on August 12, 1948, in the remote village of Siddarama Hundi, located in the Varuna Hobli of Mysuru district, the 75-year-old leader hails from the impoverished Kuruba (shepherd) community.

Siddaramaiah is also referred to by his nickname Siddu. After completing a BSc at Yuvaraja College, he pursued an LLB at Mysore University and practiced law for a period. During his student days, Siddaramaiah garnered recognition for his persuasive speaking skills and eloquence. He was deeply influenced by the socialist ideals advocated by Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia.

In 1983, Siddaramaiah entered the 7th Karnataka Legislative Assembly, representing the Bharatiya Lok Dal party from the Chamundeshwari constituency.

Later, he joined the ruling Janata Dal party. As the inaugural President of the Kannada Watchdog Committee, he oversaw the implementation of Kannada as an official language. Siddaramaiah worked towards the advancement of the Kannada language and the state's culture.

Siddaramaiah became the Minister of State for Sericulture. By earning the trust of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, Siddaramaiah rose to prominence as one of the top leaders in state politics. He later parted ways with Deve Gowda, challenging him and founding the Ahinda (Alpasankhyak, Backwards, and Dalits) movement.

In 2006, Siddaramaiah joined the Congress party and assumed the position of the 22nd Chief Minister of Karnataka from 2013 to 2018. Siddaramaiah represented the Chamundeshwari constituency as an MLA from 1983 to 1989, 1994 to 1999, and 2004 to 2007. He was also an MLA from the Varuna constituency from 2008 to 2013 and 2013 to 2018, and later from the Badami constituency from 2018 to 2023.

Prior to serving as the Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah held the position of Deputy Chief Minister from 1996 to 1999 in the Janata Dal government. He also served as Deputy Chief Minister from 2004 to 2005 in the Congress-JD(S) coalition government. During his tenure as Deputy Chief Minister, he held the Finance and Excise portfolios, ensuring the state government's cash registers were filled and clearing debts from the previous administration.

Siddaramaiah was the Leader of the Opposition from 2009 to 2013 and 2019 to 2023.

Siddaramaiah has no surname. Siddaramaiah is married to Parvathi and has two sons. His elder son Rakesh died of multiple organ failure in 2016. Rakesh was 38 at the time of his death. The other son Yathindra contested and won the seat of Varuna in Mysuru in the 2018 Legislative Assembly elections. It was his father aka Siddaramaiah's former seat.