Siddaramaiah: Karnataka’s man of

the moment
Siddaramaiah’s return as Karnataka Chief Minister is a stupendous
achievement for someone who grew up without any social or political
capital.
Published : May 20, 2023 16:12 IST - 9 MINS READ

VIKHAR AHMED SAYEED

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Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot administering the oath to Laxmi Hebbalkar, as Chief
Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar look on, during the swearing-in
ceremony of 24 Ministers in Bengaluru on May 26. | Photo Credit: K. MURALI KUMAR

In politics, destiny is often a jagged line, and in Siddaramaiah’s case, this

line has zigzagged like the needle of a seismograph measuring a massive
earthquake. On May 20, when Siddaramaiah became Chief Minister of
Karnataka for the second time, he bent the crooked line of destiny in his
favour because he has been knocked down so many times in his public
career that few would have reckoned that he would lead the State not just
once, but twice.

Siddaramaiah was born on April 12, 1948, in a village close to Mysore

(now Mysuru) called Siddaramana Hundi in a family that belonged to the
Kuruba caste. In anthropological literature produced in the erstwhile
Mysore princely state, Kurubas are described as a “caste of pastoral
shepherds”, although many had taken to agriculture by the time of
Siddaramaiah’s birth.