HOW SIDDARAMAIAH OUTSMARTED DKS

Private jets, backroom lobbying and a billionaire brother shape Congress turmoil in Karnataka

- BY SWATI CHATURVEDI | Special to Gulf News

“November revolution” — that’s how the Karnataka press described the attempted change of guard from Siddaramaiah, the Congress Chief Minister, to D.K. Shivakumar (DKS), who has been the putative Chief Minister-in-waiting since the government was formed two-and-a-half years ago.

Siddaramaiah, 80, taught DKS, 63, as he is popularly known, and the Congress high command a masterclass in realpolitik. Here is an inside account of how a coup was averted and a rival sent packing — complete with commandeered private jets, snubs from the high command, a dramatic intervention from a billionaire sibling and, eventually, everyone falling in line.

Siddaramaiah — who defected to the Congress — has clearly prioritised staying in power over any semblance of governance in Karnataka, using both his caste credentials (Kuruba community, among the Other Backward Castes) and controversial schemes such as private-sector reservations (recently announced). The move, pure populism, is likely to be embraced by the central government in its pursuit of electoral gains.

'Regional first' ideology

The Congress — once defined by the prudent governance of former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh — has in Karnataka embraced a fierce “regional first” ideology and populist agenda, including on the contentious language issue, even in the global IT hub of Bengaluru.