Last Updated:
Siddaramaiah completed a full term as Karnataka CM from 2013 to 2018 and returned to office in May 2023 when the Congress won the 2023 assembly election with a clear mandate
Siddaramaiah took oath on May 20, 2023, and is now into the third year of his current tenure. (Image: PTI/File)
Siddaramaiah is now the “master blaster” of Karnataka politics, surpassing D Devaraj Urs as the longest-serving chief minister on Monday.
Drawing a cricket analogy, the 77-year-old Siddaramaiah, a cricket enthusiast, said records are meant to be broken. “Did Virat Kohli not break the records of Sachin Tendulkar?” he asked, noting that such milestones are made to be surpassed. “Other leaders may emerge, they may rule for a longer period than me and present more budgets than me.”
Siddaramaiah completed a full term from 2013 to 2018 and returned to office in May 2023. He has now broken the record of Devaraj Urs, who was the chief minister from 1972 to 1977 and 1978 to 1980 holding office for seven years and 239 days.
Beyond this personal milestone, Siddaramaiah’s record holds significance for AHINDA politics in Karnataka. Even before surpassing the record of Urs, he launched a socioeconomic caste survey reinforcing his position that the state is shaped largely by OBCs, SCs, and STs, not just dominant communities like Vokkaligas or Lingayats.
He recently chaired the All India Backward Classes Convention in Bengaluru, presenting himself as the face of backward classes across India. He is the most prominent leader of the Kuruba (shepherd) community to have held the position of CM in any state. The Kurubas, known by different names across the country, exist from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.
Crediting his achievement to the blessings of the people, the chief minister said he will celebrate the occasion with his favourite dish, naati koli saaru, served across Mysuru, Bengaluru, and other parts of the state by supporters and Congress workers. He said he never anticipated reaching such a milestone when he entered public life.
“I never imagined that I would become a minister or the chief minister. My only ambition then was to become an MLA after serving as a taluk board member,” he said.
While comparisons are drawn between him and Urs, he said there could be no parallel between the two pointing to their vastly different social backgrounds. He said Urs did not come from a socially backward community but belonged to a traditionally ruling class.
“Despite its small population, the Urs community produced a leader who earned immense popularity and became chief minister. There can be no comparison between him and me,” he said.
Early in his political career, the senior Congress leader was mentored by Prof MD Nanjundaswamy, who led the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and the farmers’ movement in the 1980s. He later came under the political influence of JD(S) patriarch and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, emerging as a key leader by forging a social and political axis between the Vokkaliga and Kuruba communities.
That relationship later broke down after he challenged the Deve Gowda family’s dominance within the party, leading to his expulsion from the JD(S) and his eventual move to the Congress. He said he has contested 13 elections in total, including taluk board polls.
“So far, I have won eight elections. I have lost two parliamentary elections and two assembly elections,” he said.
Urs, widely credited with landmark land reforms and social justice initiatives, remains one of Karnataka’s most influential CMs. Siddaramaiah’s impending record also places him among leaders whose policies have reshaped the state’s political and social landscape.
He did not, however, continue in office after completing his first full term as the Congress failed to return to power in the subsequent election. The 2018 assembly polls resulted in a fractured verdict, leading to a Congress-JD(S) coalition government, which was later replaced by a BJP government headed by BS Yediyurappa and later Basavaraj Bommai.
The Congress returned to power with a clear mandate in the 2023 elections, paving the way for Siddaramaiah’s return as CM for a second term. He took oath on May 20, 2023, and is now into the third year of his current tenure. He has already presented 16 budgets and is expected to present his 17th budget, setting another record.
January 06, 2026, 07:00 IST
Read More
