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Karnataka elections 2018: Siddaramaiah, Congress, Chamundeshwari and Badami
Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah faces a tough battle as he defends the Congress’ southern hold.
Siddaramaiah was elected chief minister of Karnataka after the Congress won the 2013 elections. Siddaramaiah, 68, belongs to the Kuruba Gowda shepherd community and one newspaper profile in 2013 said he used to graze cattle as a child. Siddaramaiah rose from his modest background to study law and enter politics.
Siddaramaiah, who only goes by one name, began his political career in 1978, when he was elected to the Mysuru Taluk Board. In 1983, he won from the Chamundeshwari assembly constituency on a Bharatiya Lok Dal ticket. He joined the ruling Janata Party and in 1994 he was appointed the minister of finance in the state government headed by mentor Deve Gowda.
After the Janata Party split, Siddaramaiah joined the Janata Dal (Secular) and had two stints as Karnataka’s deputy chief minister. He joined the Congress in 2006 after differences with Deve Gowda, who now led the Janata Dal (Secular). Siddaramaiah, who has fought a high-octane election campaign showcasing his government’s work and taking on the BJP on social media, has declared that this will be his last election. He is contesting elections from two constituencies, his base Chamundeshwari in Mysuru and Badami in North Karnataka, where the Congress is banking on him to improve its standing.
