The myth of Siddaramaiah and the reality of D K Shivakumar
There is a power transition in the Congress government in Karnataka: Siddaramaiah has made way for D K Shivakumar. Whatever the internal rifts and rivalries between the two, the transition has taken place as smoothly as turning over a page. That was quite unexpected and quite uncharacteristic of Siddaramaiah. In his entire career as a politician, Siddaramaiah has never responded well to losing power. He has demonstrated both restlessness and recklessness when he has either been denied power or lost it. This first became clear in 1996, when he challenged the choice of J H Patel as chief minister; then in 2004, when he challenged Dharam Singh’s elevation. In 2005, he was expelled from the Janata Dal (Secular) by H D Deve Gowda for anti-party activities. When he joined Congress, he challenged Mallikarjun Kharge in 2008 for the opposition leader’s chair in the state assembly. In 2013, Siddaramaiah successfully staked a claim to become chief minister, dislodging Kharge, the claimant to the chair. After losing power in 2018, he brought down the Congress-JDS coalition government …